I hear You Calling
by Kitten of Fire
Summary: A human transmutation is impossible, right? Wrong! There's only one successful attempt and she's working for Mustang. What happens when she gets partnered with Ed? A lot of fun is what! Story is a lot better than summary. EdxOC
1. Characters and Prologue

So this is my first FMA fic. This is the prologue with the OC's description at the begining. I hope you like it even though it's not very good.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot and Aria Davies

Aria Davies

**Title: **Shadow Alchemist

**Rank: **Colonel

**Height: 5ft**

**Age: **15

**Appearance:** Short and looks like a sweet, innocent little girl. She has auburn hair and eyes the colour of sunset. She wears jeans and a white t-shirt.

**Personality:** Quiet and appears cold to those that she doesn't know. The few that warm up are often on the receiving end of a lot of hugs and appreciation. She doesn't show affection like that towards Mustang but he usually receives warm smiles from her.

**History: **Aria is the only known successful human transmutation and is always haunted by it. The girl she is died at three years old. That is most likely the reason why she was successful, because her soul wasn't very attached to the earth due to her young age. When she was ten years old she decided to become part of the military. At fourteen she received became part of the military. She is the second youngest person to receive the title of state alchemist. She moved quickly up the ranks and took over Roy's position as Colonel but she doesn't stay in office, instead she travels a lot just as the Elric brothers do.

XXXXX

_**Ten years before**_

I looked at the people around me, quietly wondering why they were all in black. I looked down at myself and wondered why I was in black. Mommy wouldn't have liked it. She loved bright colours and always dressed me in the prettiest ones.

As they lowered the wood box she was in, a tear slipped down my cheek. Somebody gripped my hand. I looked up and saw that it was Nana. She was mommy's mommy. Tears rolled down her cheeks like a river. I wrapped my arms around her waist, silently comforting her.

After all the people were gone, I stayed and sat at mommy's grave. I told her that I missed her. I wondered if she could hear me. Sickness had taken her away from me. I wished that the sickness would take me so that I could be with her again, but then I thought of Nana.

_**Five years before**_

I'm at the same place I was five years ago. This time they're burying Nana beside Mom. Tears flow from eyes again. They don't stop and my vision is blurred. The sickness has taken my family from me. I know it won't take me. Fate is cruel that way, she only leaves the one who wants to leave stranded.

_**One year before**_

I stand before the Fuhrer and accept my pocket watch. He pats my head as gives me the name "Shadow Alchemist." I turn around and I see Mustang smile at me. He has his smug smile on in an "I told you so" way. I smile back in an "Shut up" way.

What did you think? Total crap? Not total crap? Tell me. The shiny "Leave a Review" button beckons you. That, and I'll give you a cookie. I'll have the first chapter up either today or tomorrow for sure.


	2. Enter Shadow Alchemist

Well here's the first chapter. I know it's short and further chapters will be longer. I just wanted to get this one out so that people can have a taste. Well I won't keep you any longer

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OC

I sat comfortably in Mustang's office. His new position as Fuhrer certainly worked in my favour. The first thing he did when he was reassigned was give me his old position of Colonel. He could have given me up to another officer, which anybody else would have, but instead he kept me under his supervision, something I was incredibly grateful for.

"Aria, stand in front of me," Mustang requested from behind his desk.

He never ordered me around, instead he only requested. He always understood when I refused. Apparently one of the other State Alchemists didn't receive such kind treatment.

I stood up and walked over to him. He smiled an honest smile at me. His eyes were full of kindness and understanding. He felt bad that the old Fuhrer had ordered me to kill people. I killed innocents on command from him. Mustang never once ordered me into war.

"You need a partner, Aria. Your missions are becoming increasingly dangerous and I'm worried about you," Roy announced.

"To be totally blunt, I don't want or need a partner. Roy, you know I work better without one," I said.

"I do, I know very well. You're the Shadow Alchemist, blending in with the shadows themselves. You explode anything the casts a shadow. You're too important to lose."

"Well then who am I stuck with?"

"His name's Full Metal. He's also known as Edward Elric. You wouldn't know him but he'll be useful to you. Your experience on the front lines and his many abilities will compliment each other well."

"What are his abilities?"

"You'll have to find out for yourself."

I glared at Mustang but he just chuckled. He got up from his desk and moved towards me. He stood in front of me. He stood two heads taller and it annoyed me. I didn't have too much time to glare because he surprised me by tilting my chin upwards and looking me in the eye.

"Shadow, you're too important to lose. You're too important to this military but most of all you're too important to me. You're the only one here who understands what I say and doesn't judge me. Hawkeye used to be here for me but now that she's at another base I have nobody but you," Mustang said softly.

He let go of my chin and pulled me into a hug. I sighed and surrendered myself. He was right; I was the only one he talked to. He was the only one I talked to. We had an odd friendship, him being thirteen years older than me.

I closed my eyes and let the Fuhrer's smell fill my nose. He smelt of aftershave, a smell that still only smelled good when it was on him. After a minute like that, Roy moved back to his desk and sat down. I moved back to my place on the couch and we fell back into silence.

I thought back to what my life had been like with Fuhrer Bradley. I lived in hell back then. He had full control of me. I was his pet to control; he dragged me wherever he went. With a flick of his wrist, I killed people. I slunk into the shadows and destroyed them.

It was payment so that he wouldn't reveal my secret. The fact that I'm a successful human transmutation was something to keep hidden. Only he and Roy knew. Now only Roy knows. To everyone else I'm a normal State Alchemist.

A knock on the office door brought me out of my thoughts. A boy of about fifteen walked in with a suit of armour following. Roy smirked when he walked in. The boy glared. I prayed to whatever higher power there was that this was not my partner.

"Full Metal as you know, Al can no longer travel with you because his is not military personnel, I am assigning you a partner," Mustang said seriously.

"Yeah, your letter told me. So who's the lucky bastard that I have to work with? the boy asked, his words dripping with venom.

"Now, now Ed, you shouldn't talk about girls that way."

The boy, whose name I assumed was Ed stood speechless. I stood and walked up to him. He didn't even notice me; instead he just gaped at Roy.

"Full Metal, I'd like you to meet Colonel Aria Davies also known as The Shadow Alchemist. She'll be your new partner," Roy announced.

Hahahaha cliffie (sort of). I hope you enjoyed (the extremely short) chapter one. All my other chapters will be longer, much longer. This one is just for a sample. If you liked the sample, please feel free to review! I'm begging you. The shiny button beckons you.


	3. Faraway Lands

So I got a pretty good response for the first chapter. I guess people liked the sample. Now lets bring on the twelve course meal! That doesn't mean the story will be only twelve chapter long. It just means that there's gonna be some meat on the bones of the chapters. In other words the chapters will be longer. This one is slightly shorter than what I'd have wanted but when we get out of the boring begining chapters (which are just as boring for me to write as they are for you to read) we'll have some length and some good old action! :D Well that's my little pre-story message for you.

Disclaimer: I don't FMA only this story and Aria Davies

(Previous Chapter)

"_Full Metal, I'd like you to meet Colonel Aria Davies also known as The Shadow Alchemist. She'll be your new partner," Roy announced. _

(Normal POV)

Aria looked at Ed and smirked. She stuck out her hand to shake. Ed was confused at first but then he stuck out his own hand.

"Nice to meet, you Aria," Ed said after a while. "My name is Edward Elric also known as The Full Metal Alchemist. You can just call me Ed."

Aria liked him already. She wouldn't have to just act nice to him in front of Roy. He hadn't done anything to earn her respect and Aria Davies' respect was hard to earn but this kid had received the same respect from her the Roy did. Maybe it was because they were fellow alchemists.

After they introduced themselves Roy cleared his throat and the two of them turned around. In his hand he held two folders. Each one had the words "_Assignment_" written in gold text.

"These have your mission in them along with a train ticket and any other information I've deemed necessary," Roy announced.

Aria took that second to leave the room. She didn't want to be in there anymore. When she was outside she walked down the hall and headed into her dorm room number 55. She opened the door and was relieved to find it totally in order. She thought maybe one of Roy's flunkies had decided to mess with her room.

Aria went up to her night table and picked up the picture that was there. It was one of her with Roy, Riza, Havoc, Breda, Fuery, Falman, and Armstrong posing in the background. Whenever she saw it she laughed because of the pose Armstrong was striking in the background.

After a moment, sadness settled in Aria's stomach like a lead weight. She remembered that none of her friends were here anymore. They were the closest thing to friends that she had and now they were in some base in the east. Except for Roy, she still had him.

After a while of silence Aria heard a knock on her doorframe. She turned around and saw Ed standing there with a smirk on his face. Aria gave him an honest smile.

"Would you like to come in?" Aria asked. "We could go over the mission together."

"I don't know, would Roy approve of his special Shadow Alchemist being in her room alone with The Full Metal Alchemist?"

"Have you ever paid attention to Roy's orders?"

"Nah, not really."

Aria walked over to the door and dragged Ed in. She pushed him into a couch. The short alchemist was surprised at how strong the girl was. If only he knew what she had been through that gave her that strength.

Aria sat down on her bed because it was across from the couch. She opened the envelope that was in her hands. Ed opened his at the same time. Aria took out the train ticket first and then she pulled out the heavy package of information. This was certainly different from anything Bradley ever gave her. She rarely got any briefing from him. With Roy she got encyclopaedias about her missions.

Aria looked up and saw that Ed was unknowingly doing everything the same way as her. When she looked back down, Aria opened the booklet. The first thing was a personal letter from Roy. This surprised Aria because she had never gotten one from him before.

_Dear Aria,_

_I hope you don't mind me seeing you off with a letter. I can't do it personally because I have business in the West to take care of and I leave tonight. I'm sure you'll be able to manage on your own. The reason why I'm not taking you with me is because I'm worried we might have a civil war on our hands. I don't want you back on the frontlines unless absolutely necessary. I can only imagine how hard it was for you to deal with what Bradley put you through. You truly were a dog of the military. Well I guess now I should impart some wisdom upon you. First of all, don't kill Ed. He's a good kid but he's a little rough around the edges. You'll soon see why I put him with you. Second, you're gonna have to go easy on him because this is the first mission he hasn't been able to take his brother along. Third, you are under no circumstances to stay in the same room as him at any point in time. I don't need little Full Metals running around here. I think that covers it._

_Roy_

The letter was written on cream coloured paper in black ink. Roy's looping handwriting made it easy for Aria to imagine him actually saying those things. She giggled a little when she read the last set of instructions. He probably assumed she'd jump into bed with anybody who was willing.

Aria flipped over the page and then she began to read the enclosed information. Roy was very thorough with the useless information. He had stated three times in one paragraph that they would be going to and unknown location in the middle of nowhere. Aria was ready to kill Roy.

"Bastard," Aria head Ed mutter.

"Ed," Aria began.

Ed looked up and had a defeated look on his face. He didn't know what to do. They had no information about where they were going- so kindly pointed out by Mustang- and they didn't know where the place was other than it being in the east.

"Do you have any idea about where we're going?" Ed asked.

"Not at all but I have a feeling its Xing," Aria answered.

"Why Xing?"

"It's just a hunch. Either way we're going east and I have a house near the train station we stop at."

Ed nodded and then covered his mouth to stifle a yawn. Aria smiled, she knew that this trip would be hard for him especially if he wasn't used to travelling without his brother.

"Ed, you should go to sleep. We have a long journey tomorrow. You should say your goodbyes to your brother because we don't know how long we'll be gone," Aria suggested.

Ed nodded and lazily waved as he got up and walked out the door. Aria followed him to close the door. She began to get ready for bed herself because they would have a long journey ahead of them. She wondered what tomorrow would bring.

What did you think? Any sugestions? Complaints? Hatred for this story? Do you think Aria's too (insert something (eg-nice, inhuman))? I hope this chapter gets some response. Oh and for further refrence, Al will make little to no appearences (besides flashbacks) for a while because it's centres around the relationship between Aria and Ed. Well that's my little speel for you.


	4. Early Mornings

Well here's the next chapter! I hope you all like it!

**Jigoku Hana Tenshi**: I'm glad that you're liking it. I'm gonna work on the craziness and other stuff soon but the first few chapters have to be BOOOORING so that I can establish the storyline. The letter was my favourite part to write so I'm glad you liked that.

Well, on to the story.

* * *

Aria woke up that morning and showered, ready, and got dressed. She had to decide what kind of clothes she would wear. She doubted she needed to wear average civilian clothes. That was something from when she was still under Bradley. He told her to dress like a civilian so that she would blend in. The clothes just stuck with her even though it had been several months. Today she was going for something new.

(A/N: Aria's clothes are Lenalee's from -Man)

When she was done she picked up the book with mission information and walked out the door. She shut off the lights, not knowing when she would be back. Without turning around, Aria walked down the hall and into the cafeteria.

When she got there Ed was alone drinking a mug of coffee. Aria poured herself one and joined him. He looked exhausted, dark circles had formed under his eyes. Aria looked at him with concern. She had never seen somebody so worn out unless they were in war.

"Don't worry about me," Ed said when he saw the look Aria was giving him.

"Rough night?" Aria asked simply.

"You don't know the half of it."

"Where's your brother?"

"He left for Resembol on the first train this morning which happened to be at four in the morning and I saw him off."

"Well you can sleep on the train."

Ed nodded and he almost face planted into his coffee mug. Aria stifled her laughter and said that he was going to sleep on the train whether he wanted to or not. If she had to, Aria would drug him. Ed squeaked when he heard his partner's threat.

"You scare me more than Riza ever did," Ed shuddered.

Aria smirked, "Well then I'm doing my job."

"You're cruel."

"Oh shut up, finish your coffee and then get ready. The train leaves at eight which is in an hour."

Ed grumbled and then got up from the table. He looked ready to kill the next person that walked by. Thankfully nobody did. Aria just shook her head and then smiled as she returned to her coffee.

She had forgotten that she had her mission book on her lap. She flipped it open and then re-read a part that was bothering her. Realization hit her, they weren't going to Xing. They needed to Xerxes. She wasn't sure why but Xerxes had to hold some secrets that Roy wanted them to uncover.

Aria shot up from the table leaving her coffee. She ran out of her room and went to go find Ed. She tried to remember where his room was but then she remembered that he had never told her.

"Crap, where's his room?" Aria shouted to the ceiling.

"Whose room?" Ed asked from behind.

Aria turned around and lunged at Ed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and proceeded to exclaim "Thank you, thank you, thank you," very loudly. Ed looked at her like she was insane.

Eventually Aria let go of Ed and looked him over to make sure he was in one piece. When she was sure he was she cleared her throat and began her theory.

"Ed, I've come to a conclusion," Aria announced.

"About?" Ed asked confused.

"We're not going to Xing. We need to go west to Xerxes."

"Why? There's nothing left there besides ruins."

"Exactly why we're going. The ruins are going to hold some clues about whatever we need to know."

"What do we need to know?"

"I'm still figuring that out."

Ed sweatdropped and gave Aria a deadpanned look. He wanted to throttle her. She came to him with a "conclusion" that was not a conclusion or a theory, it was a guess. Something about this sparked Ed's memory when he talked to Roy about Aria.

_Ed stood in front of Roy's desk as the Fuhrer explained his new partner._

"_She's a little odd," Roy began, "But she's useful. She knows what she's doing even if it seems like she doesn't. You might have some troubles though because up until recently she was Bradley's attack dog. She did everything he asked on command."_

"_Well, who is she?" Ed asked._

"_Her name is Aria Davies. She's known as The Shadow Alchemist. Look her up in the library records. There should be at least one entire book on her if not more. You yourself have three books to your name."_

_Ed stared at the Fuhrer in shock. He had books written about him. His partner had books written about her. Did ever alchemist have books about them? It was all to confusing to the young alchemist. _

Ed stood spaced out in front of Aria. She shook his shoulders to snap him back. Stifling her giggles Aria linked her arm with Ed's and dragged him towards the entrance of Central's HQ.

"Wait! My trunk!" Ed exclaimed, digging his heels into the floor.

Aria released the blond and he ran back for his trunk while Aria waited for him in the exact same spot. All that she would need was the mission book and the notebook she kept with her.

After five minutes Ed came charging back like a raging bull and Aria had to sidestep so she wouldn't get mowed over. Aria walked after Ed with as much dignity as she could muster. She didn't have a lot of that now because of the blond. Why couldn't her partner be somebody normal like Roy or Riza?

* * *

Well how was that for chapter 4. I know it's still short but it's gonna get longer really soon. I mean like in the next 3-4 chapters soon. I promise! For now you'll have to suffer through the short chapters. However they're daily updates so I guess that makes up for it.

**Note**

It has come to my attention that there have been no "short-rants." Most of you have probably noticed that too. Well the reason for this is because Aria isn't the insulting type. She's a nice girl and she doesn't want to be mean to anybody especially after what people did to her. Later on in the story you'll see what I mean by "how people treated her."


	5. Liquid Magic

Here is Chapter four! I hope everybody liked chapter 3! I'm feeling kinda lonely cause not many people are reviewing and it makes me sad! T.T If I'm sad, then I don't update, and if I don't update then you don't get to see what happens to Aria and Ed. Anyway now that I've expressed my feelings, I hope you'll all review. It would make me update faster (a lot faster).

**Evil Robina**: I'm not sure myself. It kinda takes place in an alternate version of the series. All the characters and everything are here (manga and anime). I know for sure that Al has his boody back.

* * *

Ed and Aria were on the train and they were quickly approaching Xerxes. Ed had fallen asleep and Aria was left in her own thoughts. In only a few hours, Aria and Ed were used to each other. She was smiling as she thought of the stories Ed had told her. She loved hearing about his adventures with Alphonse.

Aria wondered why she wasn't so lucky. She had lost her mother at a young age and her father had donated her to a lab when she was seven. The only time she was let out was for her grandmother's funeral. Up until two years ago Aria knew nothing besides the cold walls of the lab.

Two years ago she was "saved" by Bradley. She was force-fed the red water to give her some of the properties of a homunculus. It was a failed experiment but it did give her heightened senses.

Aria heard Ed shift in his sleep. He mumbled something and Al's name came up. Aria smiled, he truly didn't know how good he had it. Aria hoped with all her heart that the ruins of Xerxes would hold something for him. She suspected the fountain of red water would hold something for him. Alchemists searched all their lives for mere drops of the water. Ed would have the privilege of seeing the largest source in existence.

After a while, Ed woke up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked at Aria gratefully. She had no idea how much he had needed the sleep.

"I never asked, what's in Xerxes?" Ed asked suddenly.

"An ancient civilization used to live there," Aria began, "The existed in large numbers up until about four hundred years ago. After that a small amount of the descendants lived in secret under the ruins up until about ten years ago. Now all that's left are the descendants of the descendants."

"How do you know so much and how do you know I want to go there?"

"I've researched this place extensively. You'll want to go there because these were the only people who had constant access to the red water and they could perform successful human transmutations."

"That's impossible; you can't bring back the dead. It's just not possible. Even if it was people like that are horrible."

Aria sat quietly for a moment, deciding if she should tell Ed more. He wasn't familiar enough with the people to make judgements like that. He didn't know all the rules that went with bringing back a person. However, if she revealed much more, Ed would become suspicious.

"Well maybe you should wait until we get there before you make any judgements," Aria finally said.

The two sat in silence for the rest of the train ride. Aria stared out the window while Ed was sitting with his eyes closed. There was an awkwardness between them that neither wanted to address.

Eventually the train slowed to a stop. They would get off now and be at the ruins before dark. Aria didn't know if they would have to sleep there, but anything was possible.

* * *

They walked on in silence. Neither dared say anything to the other. Aria looked up into the sky; it was quickly filling up with dark clouds. The air smelt like rain. Aria knew this area better than some locals, and she knew that rain here was very, very dangerous. It often ended in flooding.

Aria and Ed were no longer on a road. There was none anymore; it was just rolling hills up until they got to the ruins. Ed had an annoyed look on his face. Most likely it was from not being able to talk to anybody. At some points he had resorted to mumbling to himself.

Aria finally gave up trying to ignore Ed. He was making it increasingly harder for her to not pay attention to him. He was now dragging his feet. Aria was sure it was his plot to annoy her. When she turned around she saw that it wasn't the case.

Ed looked ready to pass out. Sweat had beaded on his forehead and he looked green. Aria couldn't figure out why he looked so bad but then she remembered. The area was uninhabitable to anybody who didn't have some of the red water in them. The air was filled with vapour from the water. It made Aria feel energized while it made Ed feel sick.

Aria knew she'd have to get them to the ruins soon. For some reason the ruins had no traces of the vapour. If Ed was out there much longer, he would probably die. The vapour was most likely poisoning him. She mentally kicked herself. She didn't know how she could be so stupid.

Aria ran up to Ed and slung his arm over her shoulder. She supported him as he walked. This way he was walking a lot faster than before. Aria looked over at Ed who was looking at her with a grateful look on his face.

"You shouldn't be so grateful to me," Aria began, "I'm the reason why you're in this state."

"What do you mean?" Ed asked weakly.

"The air here is full of red water vapour. It's slowly poisoning you."

"Why aren't you affected?"

"I'm not really sure; I guess I'm just lucky."

Ed didn't seem to notice Aria was lying to him. He just looked straight ahead with determination in his eyes. Ahead of them, the ruins were visible. They would soon be at them.

During their trek to the ruins, Ed almost passed out several times. Aria made sure he didn't because it was dangerous if he did. If he wasn't conscious or if he was sleeping-like snake venom- the poison would overtake him at almost double the speed.

* * *

When they reached the ruins, Ed's breathing became a little less ragged. Aria found a rock that looked somewhat like a chair. She sat him down in front of a stone wall full of inscriptions, carvings, and something that looked suspiciously like a transmutation circle.

Ed was recovering quickly. For some odd reason, the vapour wasn't in the ruins or just outside them. Aria thought that was odd because they were the source of the red water which caused the red water vapour. It was similar to mercury vapour. The difference between the two was that red water vapour was slower to kill than mercury vapour but it was five times more potent. That worried Aria when they were walking because she didn't know how fast it would poison Ed. It was different for each person.

After about a half hour, Aria noticed Ed was almost totally recovered and he was examining the stone wall. He placed his hands on the transmutation circle but nothing happened.

"This is the entrance to the underground ruins," Aria announced.

She walked up to the wall and placed her palms on the transmutation circle. It glowed blue and then the wall slid open. Ed stared at her in shock. How had she opened the wall when he couldn't?

"You have to visit the underground to be able to open it. That's how the people kept themselves safe. My dad took me here when I was younger," Aria explained when she saw the look on Ed's face.

The entered the ruins and were hit by a blast of cool air. All around them torches were lit. The fire from the torches never went out. The alchemists from long ago had made it so.

They walked down the long passage. Cool air was coming at us and the further we went, the colder it got. Aria knew they would be at the fountain soon. Ed looked uneasy. Aria decided that it was probably because of the ruins. They did seem like they could cave in at any given moment.

After a while of walking, came to the fountain. It was surrounded by grass and small stone houses. They were in a clearing that was open to the sky. Ed ran up to the fountain, mesmerized by the water. Even after thousands of years, it still worked. Red water gushed out and some spilled onto the grass, causing more grass to grow.

"This," Aria began, "Is where the philosopher's stone was created."

Ed stared at the fountain in wonder. He approached it and put his hand in. He forgot that it was supposed to hurt but instead of the pain he expected, it felt good. When he took his hand out and pulled his glove off, the cuts on his skin were gone. He looked at Aria with surprise.

"The red water you probably saw before was a copy of the original. People have tried to find out how to recreate its healing properties but they never succeed," Aria explained.

"That makes sense, I guess," Ed said quietly.

"Take some for a sample; you can always experiment with it later."

Ed pulled out a flask from his pocket and dipped it into the water. When he had gathered all he wanted, he held it up to the light and examined it. Aria walked over to the fountain and sat on the edge. Ed joined her after a few moments.

"You know," Aria began, "If you drink the water you are blessed with the abilities of the alchemists who used to live here."

"Yeah right," Ed scoffed. "Powers like those were lost along with the alchemists when they died."

"How do you know? You don't have anything to lose. All you have to do is drink a little water."

Ed glared at her and turned his flask upside down, emptying the contents into his mouth. The liquid was flavourless but felt heavy on his tongue. When he swallowed it felt slimy going down his throat, almost as if he was swallowing slugs.

"No pleasant, eh?" Aria laughed.

"You're the reason I drank it," Ed growled.

"You didn't have to drink it. You could have ignored what I told you. It was your own curiosity that got the better of you."

"Shut up."

"Can you feel the power of the red water starting to work?"

Ed looked at her oddly but then he noticed he felt different on the inside. He felt warm, as if somebody had let off a heavenly light go off starting from his heart and spreading all over his body.

"What is this?" Ed breathed.

"This is the real red water. It is truly a magic thing," Aria whispered.

The two stayed silent for the rest of the day. They watched the sun set together. It was an oddly romantic scene between two people who hardly knew each other.

* * *

There you have it, chapter 4! What did you think? Was it good? Was it so disgustingly bad that it made you want to claw your eyes out? Does Aria seem like a Mary Sue? I hope she doesn't because I'm trying to make her somewhat flawed. Anyway, tell me what you want to happen in the future. I'm not really sure where I'm gonna take the story. So I need YOU my wonderful readers to tell me what you want out of this story.


	6. Trip down memory lane

Well here's chapter 5! I got 3 reviews for chapter 4 and I've been smiling for the entire day. I'm dedicating this chapter to **Evil Robina** because you've faithfully reviwed every singe one of my chapters for this story.

**Darkeness of Yami**: Wow! You gave me an insanely loooooooong review. I think that's the longest I've ever recieved. Thanks for the tips and don't worry Al's gonna show up as soon as they return to Central (which will be very soon because I'm planning a tiny disaster).

* * *

Ed and Aria sat on the edge of the fountain until the sun was totally gone and it was almost dark. Somehow, the windows of the tiny stone houses were lit up. Even though Aria had repeatedly said that there was nobody living here. She had also said that she sometimes came here when she wanted to escape from reality.

Aria had said that this place felt as if it was a separate reality. It felt as if time no longer flowed here, instead it stood in suspended animation. It was why Aria liked it so much.

Ed's stomach began to growl. He blushed when Aria looked at him. She laughed and then stood up.

"I have a house that I stay in when I come here," Aria said. "I have some canned food. It's probably not the best but it's better than nothing."

Ed nodded and smiled gratefully at Aria. He was glad that she was so prepared although he did wonder how she had all these places to stay. It occurred to him that she might have stolen them but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. She didn't seem like the person who would steal a house, or anything for that matter. He remembered that she had told him that she used to travel a lot with her father. Maybe they bought houses wherever they stayed for longer periods of time.

They walked to a larger house that was directly in front of them. The door was made of a hard wood and it was very dark. When they entered the house, it was lit up by invisible lights. They were in the kitchen and there were no door, just a flight of stairs going upstairs.

"What's upstairs?" Ed asked.

"The bedroom," Aria answered. "This house was built for one person or a couple to live in. Most of the houses are of this size. Each only has three rooms: a kitchen, a bedroom, and an office plus a bathroom. Most of the people were alchemists so they had offices for their research. I have a small one upstairs."

Aria walked over to the pantry and pulled out a large can. She placed it on the counter and pulled out a pot, bowls, and spoons. She placed the pot on the stove and touched the rings, they sparked and a small fire started. She poured the contents of the can into the bowl.

After she was done she walked over to the table that Ed was sitting in. He was watching her curiously. Aria closed her eyes and breathed out loudly.

"You're wondering how I preformed alchemy without a transmutation circle aren't you?" Aria asked.

Ed nodded; he wanted to hear the explanation for this. He was sure she had seen the gate.

"Well if you think I've seen the gate then you're wrong," Aria said. "I was just born like this. My mother ingested some of the red water when she was pregnant with me. My dad wanted to make an ultimate alchemist out of me. Although, I think he was expecting a son."

Ed smirked at this. Of course a father would want a son to teach alchemy to. Female alchemist were few and far in between. It didn't help that most hid themselves away so that they wouldn't suffer criticism. Female alchemists weren't accepted very well by the men. That was one of the reasons why there might only be one or two female state alchemists at a time.

Aria sniffed the air and then stood up. She walked over to the stove and removed the pot. The fire extinguished itself when the pot was removed. She poured the contents of the pot into the bowls and placed a spoon in each bowl. She carried them over to the table and set one down in front of Ed. She sat down across from him

He looked at her curiously. He wondered how she could have smelt the food when he couldn't. Aria gave him a teasing smile and placed her left index finger on her nose.

"The red water gave me heightened senses," Aria said.

Ed nodded and picked up the spoon. He placed it in his mouth and immediately felt better. It was chicken soup. Just as Aria had said, it wasn't the best food ever but it was better than nothing. At least it wasn't cold.

Ed quickly finished his soup while Aria was still only halfway done. He felt a lot better now and smiled gratefully at Aria. This was the umpteenth time she had done something nice for him. He couldn't think of anything nice that he had done for her. Compared to him the girl was a saint.

After another five or so minutes, Aria was done her soup. She picked up the bowls and carried them to the sink. She picked up the pot and placed it in the sink along with the other dishes.

She let the water run and took a sponge and put dish soap on it. She scrubbed away and made quick work of the dishes. Ed watched her with fascination. He had never watched a woman washing dishes. It had never interested him when his mom was alive and he was too scared when Winry was in the kitchen. Aria however was different. She carefully washed every inch of the dishes and then placed them on the counter.

She seemed so motherly while she did this. Ed wondered what she would be like if she wasn't an alchemist. She would probably been the housewife-type, always willing to please her mother and father.

"Well, that's everything. Let's go upstairs," Aria announced.

Ed was so fixated in his watching her that he barely heard her. When he registered what she had said he stood up and grabbed his trunk. He noticed Aria had a smirk on her face. She had seen him staring at her.

Both Aria and Ed had forgotten that there was only one room in the house and that one room only had one bed. If Roy found out about this, he would have a field day. His precious Shadow Alchemist had forgotten an important detail.

When they got upstairs, they were immediately in the room. Ed and Aria blushed and looked away from each other when they saw that there was one bed. Aria sighed and decided that she would sleep on the couch or give up sleep altogether.

"Look," Aria began. "We can't both sleep in the bed because that would be inappropriate. You can have the bed and I'll take the couch."

"Not gonna happen," Ed shot back. "You're the owner of this house so you should have the bed. Besides, I don't need the sleep because I slept on the train."

All of a sudden the lights went out and thunder boomed in the sky. Lightning lit up the room. Ed and Aria jumped onto the bed and clutched each other. That was the only fear either of they had: thunderstorms.

The pair didn't notice the position they were in until after about ten minutes of being paralyzed by fear. When they noticed how they were, they jumped back about a foot from each other. Ed was blushing more than Aria.

"I don't think either of us is going to fall asleep tonight," Aria said.

"Yeah, it's just too hard to fall asleep," Ed agreed.

"Since we're not going to be sleeping, we should get to know each other."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you know the life story. If you're my new partner then I need to know more about you."

"Couldn't you just look up the records?"

"Yeah, but that wouldn't tell me who you are, that would just give me a record of your accomplishments."

Ed and Aria sat across from each other on the bed, cross-legged. Ed's arms were crossed across his chest while Aria rested her palms on her knees. She looked like she was meditating.

"Fine," Ed said finally. "I'll go first. I was born to a mother and a father just like everybody else and I have a little brother. He's a year younger and his name is Alphonse. When I was really young, my father left and never came back. Al and I were left alone with mom and she started to get more depressed each day. We didn't notice it as little kids, instead we practiced alchemy. The first thing Al and I made was a doll for our childhood friend Winry. She got scared by it but eventually accepted the gift.

"When I was about seven and Al was about six, our mom died. We studied Alchemy under Izumi Curtis after that. When I was eleven and Al was ten we tried human transmutation. We wanted to bring mom back but we failed. That's how I lost my arm and leg and Al lost his whole body.

"When I was twelve I became the youngest state alchemist and began to work under Mustang. I think that's the whole story."

Aria stayed quiet for a while. She didn't know what to say. His story was so sad and hers wasn't that bad. She didn't know if she should tell him. It might make him mad and think that she didn't care.

"Well," Aria began, "You have to promise not to judge until you hear the end of my story."

"I promise," Ed confirmed.

"Okay, this is how my story goes. I was born here in the underground fifteen years ago. I showed a talent for alchemy from a young age and my father was so proud. My mother was worried that he would somehow corrupt me. When I was three years old, I came down with an illness and died. My father brought me back with human transmutation. He never paid anything for it because he gave up some of the red water for the toll.

"My mother was angry at my father because she believed that the dead should stay dead. Soon after she died under unknown circumstances. Everyone believed my father had killed her but he denied it up until we were separated. When I was five, the underground was abandoned because homunculi had discovered that there was red water here.

"I travelled with my father until I was seven years old at which point he promptly abandoned me. He had gone mad from exposure to the synthetic red water. I was alone for only a night when Bradley found me. He had tracked down all the other successful human transmutations and put us in a lab in central. He didn't want word getting out that we exist.

"The only time I was allowed out of the lab was to attend my grandmother's funeral. After that I went back to be poked and prodded with needles. I overheard from on of the workers that I was the only one left alive. They were going to experiment on me until there was nothing left. It fascinated them that I was the same human that I had been when I had died.

"Bradley had gotten his hands on some of the natural red water and they force-fed me it. When drinking it orally didn't give them the results they wanted they began to inject it into my blood. They were trying to create a homunculus. They failed with the natural red water so they were going to try with the synthetic stuff. When I heard that they were going to do that, I knew I had to get away. I had a week before they began experimenting on me.

"I wandered around the lab looking for a way out. I discovered that there was no guard in front of the doors between eleven at night and midnight. They left it unguarded for an hour every night. Two nights before my fate was sealed, I ran away and never looked back.

"Some of the guards saw me and tried to get me back but I made quick work of them using my alchemy. The next day I ran into Mustang and he saved me. He hid me away for years until he was sure that nobody would remember me. I was eleven at the time. He trained me in secret so that I could eventually become a state alchemist.

"Three years later I became a state alchemist and Mustang became my superior. Bradley took me on missions that involved killing innocents. My alchemy was useful for that. I was Bradley's lapdog. With a flick of his wrist I was poised to kill. Except it wasn't just him that I had to deal with. Many nights I was left alone with lower ranking soldiers. Nobody cares about them so they were free to do as they wished. Several times they tried to rape me. One succeeded but when Bradley found out, he was gravely punished.

"When Bradley was killed and Mustang became Fuhrer, my life became a lot nicer. I often got to accompany him and Riza when they went to visit people. They treated me like their own child. Roy still treats me like he would his own daughter. So there you have it, my story."

Ed sat in shock for a moment. He had never heard such a sad story. He didn't know how to react. Aria had suffered so much in her short life and she had every right to hate to world but she didn't, Aria always smiled and was always kind to people. It made Ed re-evaluate how he had been living his own life. He was always complaining and taking things for granted.

"So," Ed began searching for the words. "Does this mean you're a homunculus?"

Aria laughed and shook her head. She had heard that question many times. She was nowhere near being like a homunculus.

"I'm nothing like them," Aria said. "I'm mortal and they're not."

"Okay good," Ed sighed. "I don't have to worry for my life."

"Nope, you're safe. I can't say the same about Roy."

The two of them burst out laughing. A weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Both of them had been worried about the other finding out too much. Now that they had no secrets, they could work together.

"Wait a second," Ed began. "That means all the other stuff you told me before were lies."

"Yeah, everything except for the effects of the red water was lies. I didn't want you to find out about my past. I was worried that you'd hate me."

"I couldn't hate you," Ed said quietly.

Ed had whispered so quietly that he basically mouthed the words. Even Aria's amazing hearing couldn't pick it up. Aria laid on the bed and shut her eyes. She wasn't asleep, just relaxing.

Ed joined her and they relaxed together. Eventually sleep overtook them and they fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

* * *

So there you have it, Chapter 5! I hope that it was good enough for all of you! Do you think the relationship between Aria and Ed is moving too fast? What do you want to happen betweeen them? Do you want them to fight? Do you want one of them to almost die and then the other confesses their love? Tell me what you want to happen because if I like your idea it's guaranteed to go in there. Heck, even if I don't like it but it's a good idea then I'll put it in. Oh and please leave a review my wonderful readers.


	7. Fallout

Well here's chapter six. I might have had it up earlier but I had to re-write the entire chapter. I had a really cute scene planed for Aria and Ed but then I decided that I should make their relationship move a little slower. So here we have chapter six! I've noticed something, I'm getting new reviewers! :D That makes me happy that there are new people reading this story. It also gives me hope that it's not total crap! :D I've also noticed that my little notes to my reviewers had increased in size. Just two chapters ago I was answering just one question and that's it. Last chapter it became two. Now we're at... THREE! I probably sound like such a freak for getting excited about that.

**Kyashidi-san: **I know Ed's not the type to bond with a total stranger so don't worry. I hope this chapter clears up any confusion. I like your doggie idea! I think I'll use it.

**Darkness of Yami**: I'm glad you think that their relationship is going at a good pace. My biggest fear is that it's going to fast and making Ed seem too OOC. Oh and I hope that Aria doesn't seem like an angsty-sue

**Evil Robina**: I'm glad you like the cute scenes. You're gonna have to wait a little for new ones though because of what happens in this chapter. Although I won't make you wait too long. I'm glad you like my quick updates. It gives me something to do cause I'm really bored this summer.

* * *

Aria woke up first that morning. She and Ed had their back to each other and were each facing a separate wall. She could hear Ed's soft snores. He was so peaceful as he slept. Roy had told her that he was brash, immature, and annoying. She never noticed it from the time she had been with him.

Aria got off the bed and moved out of the room. She quietly padded outside. When she got to the fountain she looked up into the sky and saw that it was a bright blue colour. There wasn't a single cloud. The ground smelt wet and clean. Aria knew that there had been rain last night. Just before she had fallen asleep, she heard it against the glass of the bedroom window. The drops hit the window just as bullets would hit a target.

Aria sat on edge of the fountain and thought about yesterday's events. Everything up until they had come to the underground had been uneventful. When they got here things became eventful. Aria felt guilty because of last night. She had forced Ed's past out of him. Even though she told him her own past it did little to make her feel better. It wasn't truly equivalent exchange.

Aria had used her alchemy just before they had started talking. Shadow manipulation allowed her to manipulate what Ed did. She got him to tell her his past. She would have to tell him, she couldn't live with herself if she kept that to herself. She used to think nothing about manipulating people but now she felt guilty.

_I wonder where my ruthlessness has gone. I used to have no heart._ Aria thought to herself.

**You lost it when you decided to become his partner.** A voice inside Aria's head said.

_Where did you come from?_

**I'm your inner voice. I answer all your questions.**

_So you're my conscience?_

**Something like that.**

_So why did I become so soft-hearted?_

**That's easy. The Elric boy is kind so subconsciously you want to be kind too. You also kind of have a crush on him.**

_Yeah right!_

**I'm serious. It's nothing to be ashamed of! If I wasn't just a voice stuck inside your head I'd be all over him cause when you look at him it's like DAMN! He's hot!**

Aria blocked out the voice in her head. She was certain that she was going crazy. When she got to central, she'd go get a mental evaluation. Hearing voices was definitely not healthy. It was probably something serious. However, the voice was right that Ed was good looking. That didn't mean she felt something, it was just a fact.

After a few more minutes of being alone, Ed appeared. He looked like he had yesterday morning. Something about him screamed that he was obsessive about his appearance, at least a little.

"Ed," Aria began, "I have to tell you something."

"What is it?" Ed asked confused.

"Come sit next to me."

Ed walked over to Aria and sat down next to her. He looked at her curiously. He was hanging her head as if she was ashamed of something. Ed wanted to know why Aria was acting the way she was.

"Ed," Aria began, "How much of last night do you remember?"

"Everything, why?"

"Well, when you told me about your past, that wasn't really you talking."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it was you but I got you to say all that. I manipulated you."

Ed stood up and held his hands at his sides, clenched into fists. He didn't know he could get so mad at somebody. He was ready to hurt Aria but he decided against it. He knew that he should never hit a girl.

"How could you?" Ed shouted. "I trusted you! I thought you were a good person! Now I know that you're no better than those homunculi!"

Aria didn't even protest when he shouted the accusations at her. She just sat there and took it. That morning she had realized that they no longer had business here because there was nothing to be gained by being here. They would go to central and go their separate ways. Aria would eventually become just a vague memory to Ed. Aria would always vividly remember him, but that didn't matter.

"We don't need to be here anymore. We can go back to Central. I'll get Mustang to give you another partner. We never have to see each other again," Aria said quietly.

"That works just fine for me," Ed growled.

They walked back out of the ruins and into the sun. The weather had cleared up from last night. The sky seemed to be teasing Aria, being so nice for such a dreary day. Aria thought she might get an actual friend, but now she ruined that. She'd probably never have friends. It hurt now, but she would learn to live with it. If Ed had taught her anything, it was that she couldn't be with other people.

They walked in silence to the train station. Ed was no longer affected by the vapour. He wanted to thank Aria for getting him to drink the water. Then he remembered what she had told him and a new wave of rage hit him. He couldn't believe somebody could be that cruel.

When they got to the train station, they bought their own tickets and entered the train. They sat in seats as far away from each other as possible. Aria stared out the window when the train started moving. She felt something wet rolling on her cheek. She pressed her hand to it. When she looked at her fingers she saw that the wetness was tears. It felt odd to her, she hadn't cried since she was little. Under Bradley's command and in the lab she was trained to never cry or even tear up. No matter what, her eyes were not allowed to water.

Aria looked over at Ed and saw that he was reading a notebook. She felt a sudden urge to sit next to him and throw her arms around him. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was, how she didn't mean to hurt him. Aria pushed down the urge and went back to staring out the window. She stayed like that until they got to Central.

When they reached Central, they went their separate ways and never looked back at each other. Ed was going on another train to be with his brother. Aria was staying in central. She didn't have anywhere else to go. Sighing she entered Central HQ and walked towards her dorm.

She entered her dorm and saw that it was untouched. Even though she had left it unlocked, nobody had touched anything inside. Aria sighed in relief because everything was still in her room. She shut her door turned on the light. She sat on her bed and just stayed still. After a few minutes she began to sob. They weren't loud sobs, no they were the silent ones that nobody could hear and made you feel like you're choking.

Aria hated feeling guilty. She had never felt guilty before when she had manipulated people. From that moment onwards, Aria vowed to never manipulate another person as long as she lived. She laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. She fell asleep quickly. Crying had exhausted her.

* * *

All AriaxEd supporters out there fear not! Their relationship is not over, it's just on a little break. I know most of you are probably thinking "But they've only just met" (or something along those lines). Just think of it from Ed's point of view. How would you feel if somebody manipulated you. So he's decided to go back home to think about some things. Next chapter we bring in a somebody. We haven't me them yet so let me help you out and tell you that it's not Roy. If you can guess who I'll dedicate the chapter to you (if there's more of you then I'll dedicate future chapters to you). Anyway what do you think should happen in chapter seven?


	8. Kidnapped

Well here we have chapter 7! I don't know where this story is going at the moment but I know for sure that I won't end it any time soon! I'm having too much fun with it! I'm going to take a moment and thank all my wonderful readers and reviewers. If I didn't have you guys, then I probably would have ended this story at chapter 2 or 3. So now I'm going to do my little review responses.

**Darkness of Yami**: I see that you're an EdxAria supporter! That makes me feel happy. I was going for funny when I did the inner voice. I'm glad you liked it.

**Kyashidi-san**: No problem. I hope you feel special again because I'm mentioning you again. I'm glad you think I'm epic! :D I will be sure to put your suggestion into a future chapter. For now you'll just have to settle with what happens in this chapter.

**Evil Robina**: I wasn't really thinking what type of voice Aria got stuck with. I was only thinking about what kind of inner voice would fit in with Aria. Since (as you will see in later chapters) she is very to the point, I though a to the point voice would suit her.

* * *

Aria hadn't seen Ed in over a week. He hadn't been near central at all and Roy was still wherever he was. Aria spent most of her days wandering around central. In the last few days, she felt as if somebody was following her. Today, as she stepped out to enjoy some of the morning sun she felt as if somebody was once again following her.

Whenever Aria turned around she saw nobody. She was turning around so much that the people passing on the street thought that she was crazy. Eventually she tired of this and decided to go into an alley where nobody was. It would be easier for her to fight whoever it was if there was little to no chance of people getting hurt.

When Aria entered the Alley, she was alone for a few seconds but then Envy appeared in front of her. She had never seen the homunculi before but she knew who they were based on their markings. She had researched them extensively. Ed had published a book on them that was somewhat of an encyclopaedia. From what she remembered this homunculi was Envy.

"You're Envy aren't you?" Aria implored.

"Smart girl," Envy sneered. "I'm glad I don't have to introduce myself. These introductions are so boring. Since I know who you are, we can skip it all together."

Aria swallowed down the bile that was rising in her throat. She was sacred now that she knew that Envy knew her name. However she pressed on. "Who am I then?"

"Why that's an easy one," Envy said with his wicked grin plastered to his face. "You're Aria Davies."

While he said her name, something covered Aria's face and knocked her out. Her whole world went pitch black in a matter of seconds.

* * *

Aria didn't know how long she had been out but it felt like days. Aria opened her eyes and was horrified to find herself crucified. Her feet weren't nailed to the wood but her hands were. They were also bound by rope to the wood at the wrists. Aria was scared to move, worried that she would hurt herself even more.

"So the pipsqueak awakes," Envy said from below Aria.

Aria weakly looked down and saw that she was very high off the ground. Envy stood at least five feet below her.

"You've been out for about five days," Envy announced. "We have some questions for you and since you're awake, now's a good time to answer them."

Lust walked over to Envy's side and looked at Aria with something that was almost pity. Aria almost gasped. She didn't think homunculi were capable of such emotions.

"We want to-" Envy began but was cut off.

"We'd like if you told us how you succeeded as a human transmutation," Lust questioned.

"Why should I tell you?" Aria spat.

"I like her," Envy laughed. "She had spunk."

"You will tell us because your life hangs in the balance," Lust said calmly.

"I have a better idea," Envy began. "Let's call shortstuff and Fuhrer Bastard."

Envy and Lust walked away and left Aria alone. Her vision was blurring. Closing her eyes, Aria allowed herself to go unconscious again.

* * *

Roy slammed down the phone. He couldn't believe what he had just been told. Somehow the homunculi had contacted him and told him that they had Aria. They would leave her unharmed if he complied with their wishes. They knew he knew the location of Aria's father. Aria probably wouldn't be able to tell them much but her father could tell them everything.

Roy buried his face in his hands. He didn't know what to do. He had just found out Aria's father was dead and left behind another successful transmutation. He'd have to get Aria back somehow. First he'd need to find their hideout. He knew that Ed probably knew where it was. If Ed didn't know then Roy would have to face the reality that he may never see Aria again.

"Sir," one of the soldiers said from the entrance. "Here is the young Miss Davies."

The soldier was holding a little girl by the hand. She looked frightened by the new place. That was to be expected. Her life had been similar to what Aria's was before she went to the lab. The only person this girl truly had contact with was her father. Considering what Roy had been told about the father, he was psychopathic and didn't care what happened to anybody but himself.

The little girl in front of him looked like a little angel. Her blond wavy hair cascaded down to the middle of her back. Her electric blue eyes stared him down, almost examining his soul. It was the same look Aria had given him when they first me. Roy smiled at the thought. He wondered how similar she would be to Aria.

The soldier brought her over to the desk and sat her down in a chair. He placed the report on the desk. He knew who had written this report. It was Riza herself. She was the only other person who knew about the Davies family and their brutal history. Roy picked up the report and saw that it was only a page long. He smirked as he read it. Riza had never been one for flowery details. She was always to the point. The report read:

_Young girl has been identified as Karlin Davies. She is the younger biological version of Aria Davies. She is the second recorded human transmutation. There would be a third but due to father's death it is improbable for there to be another. It appears that Karlin was an effort to bring back Aria again but because her soul is still here, he brought back another child. She appears to be somewhat anti-social due to her treatment before being found. Her behaviour is not unlike what Aria Davies displayed when first rescued from the lab. It appears she has some talent for alchemy. It is unknown if it is possible for it to become anything near her sister's level of ability. The reason for this is most likely due to the fact that she was never experimented on. It appears that her father had her ingest red water. More must be found out before anything else can be determined. _

Roy smirked. He figured that he had another Aria on his hands. He'd have no trouble with getting her to respond. First thing on his to-do list was introduce her to her sister. Technically they weren't sisters. Karlin was supposed to be a replacement Aria but that backfired and she became a totally different person.

Roy thought of one thing that very moment. It was "If I have to save Aria, I better get her partner to help me." He called up Ed. When the boy wonder found out what Roy was asking him to do, he promptly slammed the receiver down. Roy tried again and got the same response four times. On the fifth try Ed smashed the receiver against a hard surface several times before hanging up. Roy sweatdropped as her stared at the receiver. He had never gotten that kind of response before. This time her phoned and asked what had happened to make Ed so angry at Aria.

"Full Metal, tell me why you're so mad at her," Roy requested.

"I'm mad cause she's a bitch. She manipulated me and got me to tell her my past," Ed shouted.

"Did she at least tell you her own past?"

"Yeah but it's not the same. She manipulated me."

"You can't yell at me and expect me to fix your problems for you. You're going to have to work them out with her yourself. Listen to me carefully Ed, you have to help me. The homunculi are going to kill Aria."

"Why should I care?"

"Under normal circumstances I would just go in alone but I know how big you are on family. Aria has a little sister, Ed. She's never met her little sister but if she dies now than she will never meet her sister."

"I'll be right over."

Roy smiled. He knew Ed had a soft spot for family. No matter what problems had occurred between him and Aria, Ed would always make sure family could spend time with each other. Roy turned back to Karlin and smiled at her. She glared at him. It was such an Aria-esque glare that he was slightly taken aback.

"You're going to meet your sister, Karlin," Roy announced.

"We're not sisters. I was supposed to be a replacement for her," Karlin stated.

"Trust me when I tell you that you're sisters. You even had similar lives."

"We couldn't have. She probably lived on a cushy pedestal until she ran away from father!" Karlin spat.

"Where did you hear that?" Roy roared.

"Father told me."

"You father is a goddamn liar. Aria never ran away. She was abandoned by him and then found by the former Fuhrer. Then she was stuck in a lab and experimented on until they almost killed her. She was half dead when I found her. For as long as I am alive, you will never even think about Aria having a soft life! If anybody's had a soft life it's you. Do you understand?"

Karlin was cowering before the shouting Fuhrer. She vigorously nodded her head. Ed smirked as he walked into the room. He had seen the Fuhrer mad but he had never seen him this pissed. He obviously cared about Aria and wanted to protect her honour from people who would degrade her. Ed liked that about the Fuhrer.

"You done your rant?" Ed asked smirking.

"Shut up pipsqueak," Roy smirked back.

"Who are you calling a pipsqueak? What else do you wanna say to me? Tell me that I'm too short to climb into a chair without using a ladder."

"That and more."

Ed fumed. Steam almost came out of his ears. He didn't know why the Fuhrer hated him but he wanted to figure it out. Roy told Karlin that he would be going and she was free to wander around HQ. He basically dragged Ed out by the ear. They were off to save Aria.

* * *

I've noticed that the little note I put at the beginning of every chapter isn't so little anymore. I guess this note should reflect that and my ending notes. Anyway nobody guessed who that character was so I decided to not introduce them. I'll give you a hint: They're very close and they've been mentioned before. I think that kinda gives it away but oh well.

I hope this chapter was good enough for everybody. I worked hard on trying to make it fit in. I also edited out all but one of the torture scenes because they were very graphic. If I had left them I would have probably had to raise the rating up to "M" and I didn't really want to do that. The next chapter will be kinda graphic so just giving you a heads up. Anyway that's all for now.


	9. Safe for Now

Okay after a bit of a delay, here we have chapter #8. We're getting up in the chapters. Soon we'll be at double digits. I'm kinda stuck on what to write for the next chapter because I'm totally brain-dead. Oh and when I was writing this chapter I decided to make the "special person" appear for sure next chapter. So next chapter I'll say who got it right. Anyway Thank You to all my reviewers and the people who have added me at this story to their favourites lists.

**Kyashidi-san**: Ed's height is funny and it's fun to write the Ed rants. I like the life and death situations too. They're fun to write as well.

**Darkness of Yami**: Nah you're not the only Envy fan-girl. The author is one too! Hahaha I love how into the story you're getting! Thankies, I try to get new chapters out as soon as possible.

**Evil Robina**: Not a problem. Envy is awesome

* * *

Ed and Roy had made it to the homunculus hideout. They were surprised at how cheery the exterior was. Roy stood with his mouth agape while Ed's eye twitched.

"I always thought their hideout would have an appearance that screamed "EVIL" at you. I wasn't expecting them to take over a candy store," Roy said.

"Well their old hideout was a bit more sinister. They took over a strip club," Ed added.

Roy looked over at Ed and gave him a look that said "And you know what a strip club is and how it looks, how?" Ed just smirked at the Fuhrer and bashed through the wall. They were surprised to find Envy waiting for them. He had a malicious grin on his face. The look made Ed feel sick to his stomach. He felt like he already knew they had done something to Aria. All his previous anger towards her was forgotten. Now he only wanted to make sure she was safe. He didn't know why but it felt as if his whole life depended on it.

"I'm not going to fight you. However you will follow me if you want to see your little girlfriend live," Envy sneered.

Ed almost shouted that Aria wasn't his girlfriend but he knew it would be useless. When the homunculi make up their minds about something, it's useless to try and change it. Roy gave Ed a look that was full of questions. Roy didn't think that there was any form of love between the two. He decided that the homunculus was lying.

Ed and Roy followed Envy into the room where Aria was being held. When they walked in, time stopped for the pair. Roy almost threw up while Ed almost burst out crying. Aria looked helpless from her position. She was crucified and they couldn't have stopped it.

Aria opened her eyes and smiled weakly before closing them again. Her body hung limply on the wood. Blood streamed down the left side of her mouth. The crimson fluid dripped onto the floor where there was already a puddle. Her hands were pierced through the bones and Aria didn't think she'd ever be able to use them again. Lust had used her nails to rip the skin on her forehead. If Aria wasn't careful the blood ran into her eyes and left her blinded. Aria wasn't afraid of bleeding to death because the red water inside of her kept producing more blood.

"Envy!" Ed shouted, "Get her down right now!"

"As you wish," Lust answered for envy.

Lust used her extendable nails to cut away the ropes and took out the nails from Aria's hands. Before Ed could move to catch her Aria fell to the ground with a sickening crunch. Roy and Ed were ready to fight the homunculi but the homunculi had other ideas.

"We'll leave you with your precious lab rat. She's served her purpose. The boss told us not to fight anybody so we're not going to be disobeying orders. Until then kiddies," Envy cackled.

Roy walked over to Ed, he was carrying Aria. Her head hung limply. She looked lifeless. It was as if she was dead. Ed didn't want to think about it but he couldn't see her chest moving. He longed to see the small girl take in oxygen. He wanted her to give him some sort of sign that she was alive.

"Don't worry Full Metal. She's still warm and her body is producing heat," Roy reassured.

Ed sighed in relief. Aria was still alive. At least for now he could rest easily. They walked outside and were surprised to see Riza in Roy's car waiting for them. Roy laid Aria on the back seat. Ed sat next to her. Her head was in his lap. Ed wiped away some of the fresh blood on her face. Roy smirked at the pair. He knew that Ed cared for the girl but he didn't know how much he cared for her.

Aria didn't know how long she had been out. When she opened her eyes she saw that she was in a hospital room. Her throat felt parched. It was as if she hadn't had water in weeks. She attempted to sit up but failed. Aria only slightly elevated herself. It was enough to see that Ed was sleeping. His head down and he looked different from the last time Aria saw him sleeping. This time Ed didn't look peaceful. He looked like he was in pain or worried about something.

Suddenly Roy burst through the doors and was shocked to see Aria awake. He ran up to her and embraced her. Aria's eyes were wide. She'd never seen Roy act like this. He was always calm and collected.

"Oh Aria, I was sure I had lost you," Roy said as he hugged Aria.

Ed woke up with a start, not totally sure where he was. It took him a few seconds to register what was happening around him. When he saw Aria being hugged by Roy he smiled softly. Roy looked back at Ed and smirked a little. He would have fun with the alchemist later.

Roy left the room so that Ed could be alone with Aria. Ed scooted his chair closer to Aria. He took her hand in his flesh hand and just held it. He could still feel the puncture wounds. Even though the skin had healed, there were indents left behind. She would probably never totally recover. He noticed scars from where Lust had cut her. It made Ed's heart ache to see her so bruised and damaged.

"I look horrible don't I?" Aria said.

"Nah, you look just fine," Ed replied.

"I'm fine as long as the bandages cover me but when they come off I'll be the ugliest thing alive. I'll make the homunculi look gorgeous."

"You're gorgeous no matter how you look."

Ed took Aria's hand and lifted it up. He brushed his lips against it and smiled at Aria. Aria blushed crimson. She wasn't used to this kind of contact from anyone. She hadn't ever even liked a boy before. She didn't know what it would be like but she suspected that it would be something like this.

"I'm feeling sleepy," Aria announced. "I think I'm going to take a nap now."

Ed nodded and let go of Aria's hand. Leaning back in his chair, Ed closed his eyes and slept along with Aria.

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So there we have it, chapter 8 is done and now to work on chapter 9. Well… that is if I could…

My wonderful readers I need your help. I don't know what to do for the rest of the story and if you don't help me, this story will be going on hiatus! I would hate to do that but I really don't know what to do for it. So please help me. I you don't none of us will ever know what happens to Aria and Ed and how their relationship evolves.


	10. First Law

After a delay I have a new chapter for all of you. I hope it pleases you all. I know that it is insanely short but I couldn't think of anything else. I decided I'd devote an entire chapter to something very important in this story. I can't tell you what it is because I want it to be a surprise. I've been getting tons of people adding this story to their favourites and a ton of people adding me to their favourite authors list. I never thought this story would get so popular. I'm so happy because of this. The only reason why I wrote chapter 9 and didn't put up a hiatus note was because of: You. You being my lovely readers. Now before I start to cry tears of happiness I'm going to do my little "Author Shout Outs" now

**Darkness of Yami**: I'm glad you liked chapter 8. I tried to add in some funny lines to lighten a very serious chapter.

**Kyashidi-san**: I can finally spell your name without having to look it up! I'm so proud of myself. That's alright if you can't review as often as you did. I'm just happy knowing you're enjoying the story.

**Ephemeral Dreamer**: YAY! A new reviewer! I'm glad that you like "the epical inner voice. Don't worry it will be making many more appearances. The next one should occur very, very soon. Since you showed me all the things I have left to write about, I have new inspiration. One of those things occurs in this chapter.

**Evil Robina**: I'm glad you like EdxAria. I tried to make them into a realistic pairing. This update took a little longer than normal but I hope you like the chapter.

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Aria had been in the hospital for about six weeks before she was released. When Armstrong saw her, he almost sent her back to the hospital. Mustang had to separate Armstrong from Aria with a giant spatula. Karlin had been following Roy around for a while now and Aria had noticed. One morning at breakfast Aria asked if Roy had a kid she didn't know about. Roy nearly choked on his coffee.

At the moment Aria was sitting in a café with Roy and Karlin. Karlin was reading a book on alchemy that Roy had bought her. Aria watched the little girl with amusement. She had no inkling about her relationship with Aria. To her, at that moment, Karlin was just an adorable little girl that follows Roy around.

Aria lifted her teacup and took a sip. The blueberry iced-tea tasted good. Roy was drinking coffee and Karlin was drinking apple juice. All three of them had two scones in front of them. Roy was racking his brain for a way to drop the bomb on Aria about her "sister." Nothing came to mind so he decided to just go with the direct route.

"Aria, there's something you need to know," Roy said, breaking the silence.

"What is it?" Aria replied while taking a bite of her scone.

"Well you see, Karlin is your sister. Not really your sister, but she's your clone of sorts."

"Hmm, I guess that was to be expected. I wasn't perfect enough for him. That's why he left. I was only half a soul."

"What do you mean half a soul? Shouldn't a person have a whole soul?"

"No, it's not required. A successful transmutation like myself or Karlin, only needs half a soul. The other half is kept for insurance."

Aria turned to Karlin and observed her for a few minutes. The younger "Aria Davies" didn't look a think like the real Aria Davies. The best way Aria could describe Karlin would be "a cherubic child." The little girl looked like a cherub sent down to earth. Everything about her screamed "angel" that Aria found it slightly disturbing. Her blond corkscrew curls framed her face like a picture frame. Her eyes were an ocean blue and she had rosy cheeks with dimples. Karlin was uncomfortable under Aria's scrutinizing gaze.

Karlin looked back at Aria with a similar gaze. She observed "Aria Davies" senior with wonder. The only was Karlin could describe Aria would be "Aphrodite." Her eyes were the oddest colour, sunset. She had never heard of that colour before. Her hair was the richest colour of auburn possible. It almost looked like liquid copper. Her skin was creamy but slightly tanned. Karlin remembered seeing women like that in a book that her father had given her. It was a book on Xerxes. Only the skin matched. For all Karlin knew, Aria could have a mother from Xing or Lior.

"Karlin," Aria began. "What happened to father after her created you?"

Karlin was slightly taken aback by the question but still answered. "He went crazy. Why?"

"That was the price he had to pay. He paid dearly for you. He probably thought he would get the perfect child. If he got the perfect child then there was no price to great. Even his own life would be fine."

"He didn't die though. He just went crazy. After about two years he decided to create another child. That's how he died."

"Makes sense I guess. He didn't have anything left to give except for his life. The first law of human alchemy is "Only perform one transmutation as long as you live. For every other transmutation, the price becomes higher and higher." He defied that law and decided to create two more humans."

The three of them fell into silence again. Drinking their tea and eating their scones. Roy couldn't figure out how Aria could be so calm about finding out that Karlin is her biological clone. He understood why Karlin could be calm. She had lived with that knowledge for her entire life. She always knew she had been second best. If Roy had been in Aria's position, he would have thrown a fit. He still had much to learn about this remarkable girl.

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Well what did you think of this chapter? Did you love it? Hate it? Do you think the characters are Mary-Sue's? I'm trying to make them realistic but sometimes I might slip. Sorry about that if it happens. If it does, you must tell me ASAP! Anyway, what do you think should happen in chapter 10? Next chapter I promise the surprise character will appear. Somebody has already guessed who they are so the next chapter will be dedicated to them. I have a new question for all of you: What information do you think the homunculi got out of Aria?


	11. Mother's Words

Well people, here's your chapter 10. I'm very proud of it. We have a special guest appearance by a fan favourite. You guessed it, Aria's inner voice returns for some more fun. Our special character appears in this chapter. I'll let you figure it out on your own. Anyway this chapter is dedicated to **Evil Robina **for guessing who the character is. Now for the shout-outs.

**Kyashidi-san**: Don't worry Ed's disappearance is explained in this chapter.

**Darkness of Yami**: I'm glad you don't thin Aria is a Mary-Sue. I try to keep her as human as authourly possible. I hope that adding Karlin will make her more realistic. There's some slight Aria and Ed action in this chapter. I don't want to make it go too fast because I want it to seem realistic.

**Evil Robina**: You're still my most frequent reviewer. Don't worry you won't die because you get to find out now.

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Aria had been acting slightly distant ever since she had been introduced to her "sister." Roy decided that it was because Ed had left without saying goodbye. He had left the hospital room soon after she had fallen asleep. Aria took good care of Karlin, however. She took her shopping and bought new things for the young girl. However, if anybody paid any true attention to Aria they'd notice her heart just wasn't in it. If there was one thing that was obvious about Aria it was that she poured her heart and soul into everything she did. Roy knew that better than anyone.

"Aria," Karlin began, "Can we go to the market today? I need new shoes."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Aria said, smiling down at Karlin.

Roy shook his head as he watched Aria and Karlin walk into his office. They were holding hands, Aria leading her sister. Even though Aria was smiling, it was hollow. Her eyes held a blank stare that was discomforting to see. Karlin either didn't notice it or was just pretending to not notice. Roy would understand if she was pretending. Karlin had lived with and neglectful and abusive father for her entire life. She didn't know what it was like to have to have a family. She would jump at the chance to have somebody look after her and to love her, even if it wasn't honest love. Karlin could play make-believe even if just for a day.

"Aria, I have an assignment for you. You'll be doing it with Ed. I'll brief you when he arrives," Roy said while Aria shut the door behind her.

"That works just fine for me," Aria replied.

Aria led Karlin over to the couch she usually sat on. No sooner had Aria and Karlin sat down did Ed burst through the doors with somebody else in tow. Aria observed them. They looked to be about fourteen but taller than Ed. She wondered if this was his brother Alphonse. Aria blushed, he was very good looking.

"I'm sorry we're late, sir. Ed wouldn't stop eating and it was an all-you-can-eat buffet," the other boy replied.

"It's fine. Aria just arrived as well," Roy said, motioning towards the couch. "Besides, if he doesn't want to stay permanently short than he has to eat. Then again I don't think he has to worry because Aria's shorter than him.

Both Aria and Ed turned bright red and glared at the Fuhrer. Ed was as red as the cloak he wore.

"Shut up Colonel Bastard. Oh wait, now you're Fuhrer Bastard. Sorry about that. And who are you calling so short that even if you gave me stilts that you wouldn't be able to tell me apart from all the grains of sand?" Ed ranted.

Both Aria and the other boy sweatdropped.

"He never said any of that, brother," the other one said.

"_Brother, eh? Looks like that's Al. He's a cutie,"_ Aria's inner voice piped up.

"_**You again?" **_Aria sighed in exasperation.

"_Did you miss me?"_

"_**Like a mouse misses a cat."**_

"_I knew you liked me. We're going to become the best of friends."_

"_**Oh joy. Please, stop now, I may pee myself from excitement."**_

"_Now lets not resort to that."_

"_**I was being sarcastic."**_

"_Anyway, I know you have a think for the older Elric but the younger one is sooo yummy. Drop shorty and go for his brother."_

"_**Apparently sarcasm is lost on you. And you are sick and twisted."**_

"_If I'm sick and twisted then so are you because I am you."_

"_**Joy…"**_

"_I knew you'd love finding out about that."_

"_**You're officially being tuned out."**_

"_That's fine, I'll just come back when you least expect it. Remember what I told you, drop shorty."_

Aria blocked the voice from her mind. She was sure that there was something seriously wrong with her. Hearing strange voices was not normal, especially voices that told her to drop her boyfriend. Wait did she just call Ed her boyfriend? Well he was her friend who is a boy. Aria shuddered. She already heard the voice trying to get back into her mind. She wasn't going to let it. Her mind was full of barriers.

"Anyway since you're all here, you'll all be going on a mission together. Here are the briefing books," Roy announced.

Ed went up to the desk and picked up the two books. He threw one at Aria. While he threw it he gave Aria a gentle smile that made her melt like chocolate on a hot day. If she could she'd become a giant puddle. Aria mentally shook herself. She couldn't be having these thoughts about Ed. He was her partner and friends- albeit that was on rocky ground right now- not to mention he was below her in rank. She tried to come up with every argument she could but all of them crashed and burned when her mother's words rang through her head.

"_Aria you will one day fall in love. I hope this love is true and the kind you only get once in a lifetime. I hope you get that kind of love because you'll be with your true love for your whole life. At that moment you will learn that true love knows no boundaries."_

Aria had heard those words from her mother about a year before she died. She didn't remember much but she remembered every word her mother had ever uttered to her. They were always kind, loving words of praise. All the women of Xerxes were like that. They wanted their children to feel loved at all times. The father was in charge of discipline while the mother would always be there to smooth things over.

Ed walked over to Aria and stuck his hand out. She took it and he pulled her up. He misjudged her weight and ended up pulling her harder than needed. She ended up being clutched by the elder Elric. Al watched on with amusement. Karlin didn't understand it and thought it was a normal human thing to do. She decided to launch herself at Al.

Al easily caught Karlin and shifted her onto his back so that he was giving her a piggyback. Karlin giggled and clapped her hands. Al thought she was the cutest little girl he had ever laid eyes on. Ed was still holding onto Aria. He didn't want to let her go. After what had happened with the homunculi, he didn't want her to ever leave him.

By now they had shifted positions and Ed wrapped his arms around Aria waist while Aria rested her head against his chest. The looked on at the sight of Karlin and Al. If they had been a bit older, it might have looked like two parents watching their children. Roy watched on. He didn't know what to do. On one hand he was surprised that Aria had found somebody she could connect with. On the other he decided that this would happen sooner or later. Transmutation or not, Aria was as human as the rest of them. She experienced emotions just as he, Al, or Ed did.

_Really though, why did she have to go and pick Full Metal. There are a million other guys out there for her. I guess I should have seen it coming. If she were a few years older, I probably would have fallen for her. _Roy thought to himself.

The three teenagers and one child left the Fuhrer's office. Their stuff had already been moved to the entrance. Ed had reluctantly let go of Aria. Al had put Karlin down and Aria was back to holding her little sister's hand. This time however, when Aria smiled at Karlin, it was an actual smile. The light had returned to her eyes. She felt as if her family was complete again.

Ed and Al watched on in interest. Neither of them knew who Karlin was or what relation she had to the Shadow Alchemist. Al knew who Aria was because Ed had told him everything. He officially knew what Aria's past was, her exact height, her rank, even what she smelled like. Ed hadn't shut up about her once since he had returned home. Al had observed that Winry had looked jealous. He remembered the scene perfectly.

_

* * *

_

Winry was stomping around her workshop. She had an "I'm very pissed off and talking to me might result in your sudden yet painful death" look on her face. It worried Al.

"_Winry, what's the matter?" Al asked. _

"_What's the matter? What's the matter?" Winry ranted, shoving a wrench in Al's face. "I'll tell you exactly what's the matter. Some random girl waltzes into Ed's life and he acts like all the years we spent together mean nothing. I don't care if she's the great Shadow Alchemist. She could be the great I can pull a rabbit out of a hat Alchemist."_

* * *

Al shuddered at the thought of Winry that day. Al had decided to hide out with Den in the garden. It was safer that way. He didn't know why all the women in their lives had to be domineering psycho maniacs. Al hoped that Aria wasn't anything like that. From what he'd seen of Karlin he knew for sure that she wouldn't be anything close to domineering. He sighed, he'd never understand women.

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I'm feeling like nobody is reading this story. I have my three very dedicated reviewers that give me wonderful feedback (**Darkness of Yami, Evil Robina, **and **Kyashidi-san**) but there are no new faces. I'm constantly seeing people add this story to their favourites list and to their alert list but nobody wants to tell me where I'm screwing up. I'm not going to eat you. Anyway I refuse to review until I get at least 35 reviews (I want to make sure people want this story to continue)! I'll give you cookies if you review. Also no review make Karlin cry and you don't want an adorable little girl to cry. Here's your review prompt:

What do you think the "inner voice" should talk to Aria about next?


	12. The Motel

Wow, You guys went above and beyond my expectations. I never thought we'd have 37 reviews. I was hoping for 35 but expecting maybe 32. This makes me really happy. I hope that my new reviewers return and tell me how I'm doing. Oh and all you EdxAria fans, you get some real action in this chapter. Here are the shout-outs:

**Midnight Star 237**: I'm glad you think it's good.

: Don't worry, Karlin isn't going to cry.

**Blazingangel12**: Don't worry there will be more fighting soon to come.

**Evil Robina**: I'm glad the dedication made you feel happy. I hope you like the romance in this chapter.

**Angel362**: Don't worry I'm not going to hold it against you that you are a new reader. I'm glad you like the story.

**DaruyaChan**: Yeah I'm pretty sure I reviewed one of your stories. It was Elemental Gem right? I've been reading more of it. It's getting really good. I'm sorry I haven't reviewed anymore but I also haven't been reading many fanfics lately. I don't have really good internet so I just write my chapters and then use what little internet access I have to post a new chapter. All that will change in about a week though when I get back from vacation. I was trying to go for a voice something like Truth. I'll see what I can do with the material you gave me.

**trollypop**: Oh don't worry the inner voice will mess with their relationship.

**Kyashidi-san**: There will be more life and death situations soon. I like the choice idea, that going in here for sure.

**Darkness of Yami**: I'm glad you enjoyed.

* * *

"What's the mission?" Al asked.

"Apparently there are rumours of an uprising in Lior," Aria answered.

"We're supposed to confirm whether they're true or not. If they are we're supposed to see if we can placate the people," Ed added.

Al nodded. It was just like the old missions when he was his brother's only partner. He watched as Ed and Aria discussed something in hushed whispers. He and Ed had been just like that. Al looked down at Karlin. She had fallen asleep and her head was resting on his lap. She looked so sweet and innocent, like a little angel. Al wondered if she had any alchemic powers. He wondered what connection Aria and Karlin had.

"I'm so tired," Aria yawned. "I got no sleep last night."

"You should be sleeping, it's healthy for you," Ed said with concern.

Al looked at with surprise. He wasn't the one to show concern over something as simple as sleep. Aria smiled at Ed and shook her head as if it was a sign to tell him not to worry. Karlin began to stir. She lifted her head and gave everyone a lazy smile.

"Hey sleeping beauty," Aria said softly.

"Heya," Karlin responded.

The train ride proceeded in comfortable silence. There was not direct train stop in Lior so they would have to walk in the desert for a while. The group lugged their trunks off the train and started to walk towards their intended destination. Aria made a mental note to kill Mustang when she saw him next. He was not sending her anywhere unless they had a ride to the location. The expression on Ed's face showed that he felt the exact same way.

They had been walking for a while and the sun was starting to set. All of them knew that the desert was a scary place without somewhere to sleep. Somehow they came upon a motel. Ed and Al exchanged a glance. Aria drew Karlin to her. They felt unsure of this motel. They wondered if homunculi could be there. Aria decided that if there were homunculi then they probably knew that the group was near the motel.

"We need to sleep," Aria reasoned.

"What if there are homunculi?" Ed countered.

"Well we're screwed either way. If they're there then they'll know we're here."

"Fine, but if anything happens it's your fault."

"Whatever."

They entered the motel and saw that it was totally empty. There wasn't even an owner. They checked all the rooms but found nobody. There were only two bedrooms. One had two twin beds while the other had a single king-sized bed. The door of the room with the single bed had a name plate with the words "Honeymoon Suite" engraved into it.

"Karlin and I'll take the other room while you two can have this room," Al announced.

"Not a chance, how do I know you're not going to do weird things with her?" Aria exclaimed.

"I don't think you have to worry, Al's an innocent," Ed said while Al blushed furiously.

"Fine, you two can share the other room while Ed and I have this room."

Aria walked in and Ed followed, shutting the door behind them. Aria laid herself in the middle of the bed and pointed to the floor.

"You can sleep there," Aria announced, closing her eyes.

"Not a chance," Ed said.

"We'll you're not sleeping with me."

Aria didn't notice Ed make his way to the bed He gently climbed on top of her so that he was straddling her waist. She opened her eyes in surprise. She saw Ed smirking at her. She opened her mouth to protest but didn't get the chance because Ed's lips crashed onto hers. At first she was too surprised to do anything but quickly began to kiss back with passion. Ed smirked into the kiss. Aria deepened the kiss by wrapping her arms Ed's neck.

Their make out session lasted for a while before the ended up lying side by side. Ed held Aria's hand and gently stroked it with his thumb.

"You have no idea much I've wanted to kiss you," Ed announced.

"The feeling is mutual, I guess," Aria said. "I thought you hated me."

"I could never hate you. I was just upset that you had gotten all that information out of me. By the way what is Karlin to you?"

"She's my other half."

"What do you mean?"

"I only have half of my soul, she contains the other half."

"Oh…is she an alchemist?"

"I'm not sure. Since there's a fifty percent chance that a person will have alchemic power its possible that I have the portion of my soul that lets me have alchemic powers while she has the portion that doesn't."

"How is it possible to only have half a soul? I thought a person needed their entire soul to survive."

Aria mused on this for a moment. She knew that she was different from a normal human. On the outside she looked identical but internally she was strikingly different. It was the price that had to be paid for her to live.

"A human transmutation is a bit different from a normal human," Aria began, "For instance your heart beats, mine doesn't and neither does Karlin's. We can potentially have immortal life spans. However if we fall in love, we'll age alongside the person we love. We're not normal biological humans. We're not natural. We're not supposed to exist. We're a forbidden art for a reason. That's why we can live with only half a soul."

"Don't say that you're unnatural. You were once a human just like Al and me. You were brought back because somebody loved you so much that they couldn't live without you. You were meant to be. You were born, just not in the way people are usually born," Ed said.

"You never know, my dad could have brought me back because he wanted revenge."

"How old were you when you died?"

"Three and I remember it perfectly."

"Then there's no reason for him to want revenge. You were to young to do any harm. I have a question, what happens when we die?"

"We're taken to the gate and we stay there until our souls find their way into an unborn fetus. Although it's not guaranteed that we'll be able to perform alchemy in our next life."

"That's a lot to take in and even more to hold inside of you. I vote we go to sleep."

"Good night Ed."

Aria turned around and closed her eyes. She felt Ed pull her towards him. He had Aria with him now and he was never letting her go. When the homunculi had kidnapped her he discovered how much she actually meant to him. Ed didn't want to let her go. As long as he could hold her in his arms, he was never letting go.

* * *

Well here's the end of chapter 11. My shout-outs that I do at the beginning of every chapter are really long this time. I'm so happy that there are people still reading this. I'm going to get to work on chapter 12 right away. I got some great ideas from my reviewers. Here's the current review prompt:

If this was your story, what would have happen to the characters?


	13. Big Dreams for Little Girls

Well here it is: Chapter 12! After a little delay, it is written. I've decided to add a little bonus feature to the chapter. At the end of each chapter there will be a journal entry from both Aria and Karlin. They will start from the day Aria is resurrected and for Karlin it will be from the day she was created. This way you will get to know my OCs a little better. Anyway this chapter was interesting to write. So enjoy. Now for the shout-outs!

**Angel362**: I wasn't going to totally stop it, just until I got some more ideas.

**Darkness of Yami**: Hahaha yep, they're finally getting somewhere.

**Evil Robina**: I'm glad you liked it. I tried very hard to keep everything as perfect as I could get it. I didn't want too many flaws. Based on your review I see that I did just fine.

**Kyashidi-san**: That's okay if you don't have any suggestions. You've given me so many already and they're all really awesome!

* * *

Aria groaned as she woke up. She felt a weight across her stomach. She looked down and saw that Ed's arm was across her stomach. She was about to yell at him but then last night's events flooded into her mind. She blushed at the memory of her and Ed so close to each other and some of the stuff they would have done wasn't exactly PG-13. Aria stopped them from going any farther.

Aria heard movement from beside her. She looked over at Ed. He looked totally calm and collected. She had heard Roy tell her that Ed often had nightmares. She didn't think that was possible. He was lying next to her looking innocent like a baby. Aria wondered what kind of nightmares might plague him.

Ed's eyes fluttered open and he looked over at Aria. His golden orbs seemed to be staring right through her.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," Aria teased. "Or should I say Sleeping Ugly."

Ed groaned and turned over. Aria smirked. She leaned over him and began to place kisses down his neck. Ed moaned and turned around.

"You're not supposed to tempt me," Ed complained.

"I know, but I can still have some fun," Aria said simply.

"You do realize what happens if we go too far."

Aria groaned, realizing Ed was right. There was no way to protect her from getting pregnant. They couldn't risk that happening. Not while there were homunculi on the loose. Aria wondered if she and Ed would still be together and able to have a family. Aria's train of thought was broken by knocking on the door.

"Come in," Aria announced as she sat up.

"We just wanted to make sure the room was still in once piece," Al said as he walked in.

Al was holding Karlin on his shoulders. They looked like brother and sister. Aria smiled. She was glad that her sister and Ed's brother were getting along. Silently the older siblings had decided to keep their budding relationship from their younger siblings. Aria wasn't sure if she should tell Roy but he could give her relationship advice. That might backfire however.

"Al and I have something we need to do," Ed announced. "We'll be back in a few hours."

Aria gave the brothers a questioning look but didn't say anything. Al walked over to the bed and handed Karlin to Aria. Aria played with her sister's hair, braiding it into tiny braids and then un-braiding it.

"Aria, can I ask you a question?" Karlin asked.

"Sure kiddo, ask me anything," Aria replied.

"If you had a chance to meet me again, would you rather not take responsibility for me?"

Aria looked at Karlin in shock. She didn't say anything at first but then leaned over and placed a kiss on her sister's forehead. "If I had to do it over a million times the outcome would always be the same. I will always take full responsibility for you. I love you so much," Aria said.

Aria pulled Karlin into a hug and Karlin rested her chin on Aria's shoulder.

"I love you too," Karlin whispered.

Karlin and Aria had been spending time wandering around the immediate perimeter of the motel. It appeared to be totally abandoned. Aria thought that it would make a nice home for somebody with a large family. The word "family" got Aria thinking again. She wondered if she'd ever have a family. If she did, would her kids look like her or would they look like their father. She wondered what her husband would be like. She wondered if her husband would be like Ed, brash and headstrong. He might be like Al, kind and compassionate. If he was like Roy, flirtatious and a few brakes short of a wagon then she would personally hang herself.

"Aria," Karlin began. "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just thinking that when we get back to central, we're going to have to find somewhere to live," Aria answered.

"Why? I thought that Central HQ was our home."

"We can't live there forever. When we get back, I'm going to get looking for a house that we can live in. I'll buy you some stuff too."

"Like what?"

"Teddy bears, dolls, toys, books, clothes, and all the candy you can eat."

Karlin's eyes shone with joy. She imagined this fantasy in her mind. She could see herself living in a big house with a big front yard and a giant courtyard in the back. She could see sitting Aria at a big patio table eating watermelon while she swam in the pool. Ed and Al might visit them too but even if they didn't, Karlin was alright with it.

* * *

Dear Diary,

Today I was "born." You see, I died but then I came back to life. I don't totally understand it but I think that everything is the same as before. Mommy is acting a little strange and I don't understand why. I miss how Mommy used to be. Daddy is just daddy. He seems to be just like he was before.

Today I went fishing with Daddy. While we were waiting for the fish to come, Daddy told me that I was the most perfect little girl ever. After than a big fish came and I helped carry it home. After that Me and Mommy and Daddy ate it for dinner. It was really yummy. I have to go to sleep now. Night, night.

Aria

* * *

Dear Diary,

Today I was born. Daddy said that he wanted the perfect little girl and I'm exactly that. He said something else but I can't remember what. I watched the sun set today. It was very pretty. It looked like the whole sky was on fire. Then I stayed out and watched the stars a little bit. I saw some fly by and I liked it a lot. Did you know that there are more stars than I can count? That's a lot and daddy says I can count really high. I can count to twenty all on my own. Then I need some help. I'm getting better at it though.

Karlin

* * *

Well here we are at the end of this chapter. How did you like it? Was the bonus good or do you think I should take it out. It's just something that's there so that all my readers can understand Aria and Karlin a bit better and see them how I see them. Anyway that's all for now!


	14. Homecoming

You guys have full permission to kill me. I'm sooooo sorry for my extended absence. School has started and I several huge tests, boyfriend problems (I know, I'm pathetic), and friend problems. Life just kind of got in the way of everything. I'm also really sorry for the short chapter. I was thinking of putting up a chapter every week. I think I'll put up a chapter every Friday and make everyone happy. Anyway now for my shoutouts:

**Kyashidi-san**: I'm not totally sure where they went…

**Evil Robina**: I'm not adding in any entries today, because if I did everyone would have to wait a lot longer.

**Darkness of Yami**: I'm going to keep calling you DOY because it's easier for my brain to remember. I like your idea by the way. I think I may use that.

**little firework**: I'm glad you liked it

**SWEETSAPPHIIRE0**: Now you get to see what happens.

* * *

The sun was setting and the boys still weren't back. Aria was beginning to worry about them. Karlin didn't seem to notice. She had spent her time exploring their temporary home. She hummed at she looked through all the nooks and crannies. The sung was one she remembered but she didn't know from where.

Aria had watched for a little while until worry began to take over her mind. The gnawing feeling of not knowing what was going to happen to Ed and Al scared her. She didn't know how to deal with it because she had never had to worry about someone besides herself.

Karlin looked at her sister with worry and walked over to the kitchen where Aria was making dinner. She walked over to her sister and hugged the older girl's knees. Aria looked down in surprise. She knelt down so that she was eye level with Karlin and placed a hand on her head.

"Karlin I want you to know, that no matter what, we will always have each other," Aria whispered and then placed a kiss on her sister's forehead.

Just and Aria stood up and returned to making the stew she had started, Ed and Al walked through the door. Karlin ran over to all and hugged him around the legs. Al lifted the little girl up and placed her on his shoulders. He carried her outside noticing that Aria and Ed might need some time alone.

"Hey," Ed said.

"Hey," Aria replied.

Aria didn't look up from the stew and didn't even glance at Ed when he walked over to her. Ed took Aria's shoulders and turned her gently so that she was facing him. Aria looked up and glared at Ed. She had dropped her ladle in surprise when Ed had spun her around.

"You made me so worried," Aria said, sobbing.

Ed pulled her into a hug and held her, stroking Aria's soft hair. He gently soothed her as she cried. Aria pulled away from Ed and placed a hand on his cheek. She wiped away some of the dirt that was on his face.

"Thanks," Ed smiled.

Aria gave Ed a watery smile and turned back to the stew.

* * *

Okay so how bad was it? Do you want to kill me? I'm giving everyone permission to flame me for my long absence. Again, I'm sooooooooo sorry! Any ideas for where you want this story to go?


	15. Fever Dreams

After a long delay, here's the next chapter. I know it took forever but I hope it's worth it. I would like to warn you that there is some graphic content in the flashback scene so if you don't want to, you don't have to read it. Not reading it will not affect the story in anyway, it just gives a bit more back-story for Aria. Anyway here are my shout-outs to my lovely readers: blazingangel12, KuroTenshiAkuma, little firework, Evil Robina, fma gal, fma 4eva, SoulReaperAndAlchemist9710, Emerald Gaze, Oo, Atama Ga Kuru Teru!

I can't really do the personal thing anymore because the list is getting a lot longer and I'm kind of lazy. However if you have something to ask and you really want it answered, feel free to send me a message. I promise to reply!

* * *

The cold night air wrapped around the caravan like a chilling blanket. Somehow the party of four had been able to find someone willing to take them to Lior. They didn't know where the night would take them but they hoped that it would bring them closer to their destination.

On one side of the caravan's interior, Karlin and Al slept. On the other, Aria stared out the window in a transfixed state while Ed attempted to read by the light of the moon.

"Why did you bring Karlin along?" Ed suddenly asked.

Aria turned to face him, "She has nowhere else to go."

"You're lying."

"I'm telling you the complete and honest truth."

Ed, shook his head and turned back to his book. He was reading his notes on the red water. Aria had explained that Alchemists made the water toxic. By adding something as simple as water to dilute it, the red water became the deadliest poison on earth due to its composition being changed. The red water Aria had been force-fed was still in its purest form.

"Hey, Ed," Aria began, "Where did you go the other night?"

"Just to make sure the area was safe," Ed replied.

"That took all day?"

"You can never be too careful."

Aria knew Ed was hiding something but she wasn't sure what it was. It could have been a number of things. He could have met up with another woman. She didn't know one thing about his past life. For all she knew, Ed could be a teenage father with a son and daughter. She did, however, know that prying for information would be futile. She wouldn't get anything out of him.

The air was so tense that it felt like it could be cut with a knife. Something had changed between Ed and Aria. There was no more of the playful flirting they had done before. Now it was replaced by a tension so great that it could have been cut with a knife. Aria shuddered, as she thought of life when she lived with her dad.

_Five year old Aria lay on the table, naked, with her father hovering above her. He held a scalpel and his eyes glowed with cruelty. She was tied down to the table, but still Aria squirmed. She tried to free herself. Her tiny body didn't want to be chained to the table. Her large, fearful eyes were filled with tears. _

_Slowly her father placed the knife against her soft skin. Her outer layer gave way like an orange peel. Slowly, her blood began to leek out. First, her father started with her arm. He wanted to see what her blood was like. He wanted to know if it looked the same as his. _

_The red liquid poured out onto the table and he collected it into a bowl. It poured out thick and hot like liquid butter. When the man was done, he sewed up her arm and left her there, cold, naked, and alone. Aria was afraid._

_She couldn't go anywhere, couldn't run. Aria was under her father's control. After what felt like days, Aria's father returned. He carried a key in his hand and he unlocked the shackles that bound Aria's wrists to the table. _

_When she was free, Aria bolted for the door. She ran to her room and found her dress in a wrinkled mess on the floor. She pulled it onto her body, covering all the places her father had violated her. She knew that she would never be treated like a human child by her father, but she still couldn't stand the treatment she received. She wondered if death would be easier to deal with. _

Aria woke with a start. She had been dreaming of her life as a young child. It scared her to think that being cut open like that was a bi-weekly occurrence. She was raped, beaten, and cut open by her father for years until she finally got away.

Aria looked over at Karlin's sleeping form and hoped that she wasn't treated the same way but deep down knew that her sister was most likely treated the same as her. Their father was a madman who deserved death. He didn't deserve to live after all the things he'd done.

Ed was watching Aria as she slept. She looked like she was in pain, but he didn't want to bother her. She needed the sleep. Her body had "exhaustion" written all over it. Ed worried about Aria. He didn't know what had traumatized her as a child but whatever it was, in her sleep it showed. Roy had told him that Aria was a special case, a girl who had been traumatized as a child.

When she awoke, Ed breathed a sigh of relief. Aria had escaped from the nightmare world and hopefully she wouldn't return there for a long while.

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Aria teased.

"Humph, nothing's wrong," Ed snapped.

Aria withdrew into the corner, fearful. She remembered her father snapping at her before he raped her. She flinched at the thought of that. Slowly, she distanced herself from Ed. She didn't want to go back to a situation like the one she had once lived through. It worried her that secretly, Ed was like her father.

* * *

Okey dokey, we have come to the end of the chapter. I rediscovered my love for the fanfic while writing this chapter. I should have the next chapter up soon. I'm really feeling the love from you guys so I want to thank you all for sticking with me and my crazy updating schedule. I still remember when this story was just an inkling of an idea and I had no faith in my fiction writing abilities. So I want to that you all for that. Oh and Now I'm just going to say, please leave a review and tell me what you thought of it.

Love,

Kitten of Fire


	16. Younger Siblings' Day Out

One week Later, and I'm back! :D I missed all of you guys, AKA my readers/reviewers! You guys are the reason I get my ass onto the chair and write. 3 Anyway, this is just a fluffy filler chapter for you guys that only briefly features Aria and Ed. The entire chapter focuses on Karlin and Al. I noticed that they've been kind of neglected in this fic so to make up for it I decided to have an entire chapter for them. Also, since the last chapter was kind of dark, I decided to make a lighter chapter before we get into some really dark stuff.

Now I would like to thank fma gal, Bloody Bonez Alchemist XD, Evil Robina, and KuroTenshiAkuma for reviewing! Love you guys! 3

* * *

Around noon the next day, the group arrived in Lior. They were greeted by Major Armstrong. The Major wasn't even within earshot and he already had his shirt off. He was prancing towards the group and scaring the townspeople. Pink sparkles floated in the air around him. Ed, Aria, and Al sweatdropped while Karlin squealed glee.

"Good to see you, Major," Aria greeted.

"Why hello there Miss Davies and Misters Elric," Armstrong boomed. "And who is this?"

"My name is Karlin, I'm five," Karlin beamed.

Armstrong picked up the girl and threw her up into the air. When he caught her, he placed Karlin on his shoulders. The girl was amazed at how much she could see from her perch. She felt like a queen looking down upon her subjects. Aria giggled when she saw her sister and the pose she had adopted.

"Karlin," Aria began, "You look so regal."

Everyone laughed until it finally hit Karlin that she was so high up. She began to cry and beg to be put down. When Armstrong put her on the ground, she flew to Aria's legs and began to sob into them. Aria knelt down and put her hand on Karlin's head.

"Hey Kiddo," Aria whispered. "The Major didn't mean to scare you. He was just having some fun. He would never hurt you."

Karlin tearfully nodded and Aria slowly got up. Armstrong motioned for Aria and Ed to follow him.

"Al, would you watch Karlin for a while? Here's some money for food. Oh and Karlin needs some new clothes. See what you what you can do about that." Aria said.

Before Al could agree or protest, he was left alone with Karlin. He sighed and accepted that he would be babysitting today. He didn't mind too much because Karlin seemed so sweet and easy to care for. He didn't think that it would be too hard to watch over her for a few hours. She looked very pensive now.

"Al," Aria began, "I need to pee."

It took a few seconds until what Karlin had said registered with Al. Afterwards, he quickly scooped up the girl and began to run in search of a public washroom. After about five minutes of running around the town center, he found one.

Al waited outside of the stone building while Karlin finished her business. When she was done, Karlin exited the building and fluffed the skirt of her dress. She was wearing the outfit that Aria had bought her a few days ago. She felt comfortable in what she was wearing.

"Hey, Karlin," Al began. "Let's go get lunch."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Karlin replied.

The pair headed down the road to find a restaurant. There were several food stands but nothing really fancy. Al had no doubt in his mind that Aria took Karlin out to five star restaurants when they went out to eat. All colonels made a lot of money and Aria didn't have any bills to pay so she probably had a lot of money to spend.

"Hey Karlin, where does Aria take you for dinner in Central?" Al asked.

"Oh, she often takes me to the Oz Dust. Why do you ask?" Karlin replied.

"No reason. Would you be okay with something less fancy?"

"Sure, I just want some food. A sandwich would be nice."

Al sighed in relief. The Oz Dust was the fanciest and most expensive restaurant in Central. Each table got their own private waiter and bar tender. The waiting list for the Oz Dust was so long people often booked months in advance. Al found it curious that Karlin went there with Aria so often considering she had never mentioned anything about reservations. Then it clicked in his mind, Aria was directly connected to the Fuhrer, she didn't need reservations. He also doubted that they'd find somewhere as fancy as the Oz Dust in Lior.

"Hey Karlin, tell me, what do you and Aria do when you're out together?" Al asked as they walked.

"Oh well it depends on what we're out for," Karlin began, "If we're just running a simple errand, we might stop by the bakery and Aria will buy me some kind of sweetbread. Other times if we stay out late enough we'll go out and eat dinner at the Oz Dust or somewhere else like it."

"It sounds like you have a nice life with Aria."

Karlin thought about it for a second before nodding. "Yeah, I love living with her. She's always buying me gifts and making me feel like a princess. Mister Mustang is pretty nice too."

"What does he do for you?"

"Oh, well when Aria can't take care of me, Mister Mustang watches over me. Usually I stay in his office until he's done work and after that we usually go out for ice cream. When I'm in the office, he gets his staff to keep my busy if he's too caught up with paperwork."

Al smiled at the little girl who was holding his hand. Her sweet disposition made her seem like a little faerie. He couldn't believe that she could have endured such abuse only weeks before and be smiling like she was now. From what Ed had told him, Al knew for a fact that Aria was still traumatized even now by what her father had done. Although, Aria had tests conducted on her in a laboratory while Karlin didn't.

"Al," Aria began, "What is your life like?"

"What do you mean?" Al asked in confusion.

"What do you do on a normal day?"

"Oh well right now I'm usually in Risembool with my friend Winry. I like helping her and granny out in their workshop when I can. I help mend the automail parts with alchemy."

"What's automail?"

"Automail is metal prosthetics."

"What's prosthetics?"

Al sighed and continued to explain things to Karlin. She was full of questions. Aria obviously fuelled her love of learning by providing her with books to read. Al wondered if Karlin had any alchemic ability. She seemed like she had potential. He decided that he'd recommend to Aria that she send Karlin to Izumi. He'd edit the parts about the 30 day training on Yock Island. If Aria found out about that, she'd probably lock Al up in a rubber room to make sure he never got near Karlin.

After some more walking, they found a small restaurant that sold sandwiches. Karlin was squealing joyfully when the cheese and ham sandwich she ordered was set down on the table in front of her. Al happily picked up his tomato and lettuce sandwich and bit into it. To drink, they had iced tea in tall glasses. Karlin devoured her sandwich in a few moments while Al happily savoured the food her was eating. Karlin eagerly waited for him to finish the food so that they could continue their day out.

The sun was a bit lower in the sky and there was no sign of Aria, Ed, or the Major. Al was curious as to where they had gone. Usually Ed would take him along but now that he had Aria there was no need. Now, Al was stuck with Karlin. He didn't mind the little girl but it just wasn't the same as having someone his own age to be with. Karlin was sweet and innocent but she was only five years old, not exactly someone to have deep conversations with.

Karlin guessed it was late afternoon when they left the sandwich shop because the sun was low in the sky. Aria had taught her how to tell approximate time with the sun. It was a useful skill to have and Karlin had been using all day. She was having fun with Al but it just wasn't the same as when she was with Aria. Aria taught her new things and let her experience new things. Al was just her babysitter.

"Hey Al, what do you want to do next?" Karlin asked.

"How about we just wander around for a little while," Al replied.

Karlin smiled and took his hand and dragged the younger Elric along with her. They spent the remainder of the day wandering around Lior and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Time flew by quickly and sunset was soon upon them. Al noticed an Ice cream vendor on the side of the street who looked ready to close up for the day.

"You know what would be a perfect end to today?" Al asked.

"What?" Karlin responded.

"Ice cream."

Karlin's eyes lit up and she cheered, "Yay! I love ice cream!"

Al led the little girl to the vendor and bought himself a strawberry ice cream while Karlin had bubblegum. The found a bench on the other side of the street and sat down. Karlin smiled while she ate her cold treat. It tasted sweet and creamy, just like the ice cream in Central. To her, it was a perfect end to a perfect day with Al.

* * *

So here we are, at the end of another chapter. Isn't it sad? We must say goodbye until the next update. I'm going to give you guys a little preview of the next chapter:

Basically, Aria and Ed are with Armstrong and something bad happens and somebody get seriously hurt for some sort of reason.

That was a bad preview but still, it's a preview. Now, I have two review prompts for ya'll! First, I want to know what you think should happen in the next chapter and secondly I'm thinking of starting another fanfic but I'm not sure what fandom to write in. So, I'm coming directly to you: my lovely readers. If I wrote for another fandom, what fandom would you want it to be? I'll even start reading another series to get a feel for it before I write the story. So there you go, your two review prompts: what do you want to see happen in the next chapter and if I wrote another fic, what fandom would you want it to be in?


	17. Lost Memories of a Princess

Okay so it has been a very long time since I last appeared on here. I would've updated sooner but there was a death in the family and I had exams to study for. Now that all that is over and done with, I should be able to get chapters out more often! :D I warn everyone who is reading that this chapter is much darker than the rest have been. Also, thank you my wonderful readers. Without you guys, this story wouldn't be possible!

* * *

The hot weather outside caused Aria to feel uncomfortable. She looked over at Ed and saw that he wasn't doing much better. Armstrong seemed to be just fine. She assumed it was because he was shirtless. It amazed Aria that he wasn't sunburned yet. She shook her head and returned to focusing on not dying while the got to where they were going. It seemed they were going further and further away from Lior and deeper and deeper into the unforgiving desert.

The ground beneath them began to shake and shiver. A giant hole appeared beneath Aria and Ed. Armstrong seemed unfazed which confused them both until they saw him transform into Envy. The continued to fall for what seemed like hours but when they did finally land, Aria landed on Ed's back, which broke her fall.

"Nng, get off, NOW," Ed exclaimed.

Aria hastily got up and scurried to the nearest wall and pressed up against it in order to make herself seem smaller. Ed didn't think he had been that scary when he yelled at her. He saw the girl shaking and he eyes were wild with fear. He looked to where she was gazing and saw what was making her afraid: the homunculi were here.

Gluttony was staring at Aria with hunger in his eyes and Lust sadistically smiled at them.

"Oh dear, the poor little lambs got lost while following the shepherd," Lust cackled.

Footsteps could be heard coming towards them. The light was too dim to be able to make out anything more than a few feet away. After a few seconds Greed appeared. He looked at Aria with lust in his eyes. Ed didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"Oh look my prize is here," Greed exclaimed with open arms. "There better not be a bruise on her, or else I'll be very unhappy."

Greed turned to Aria, his eyes wild. "You're mine now, let me take you to paradise. It'll be so much better than the life you had as a dog of the military."

Greed spat out the last part. Aria, too frozen to move didn't do anything as he scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. Ed watched in horror. He didn't know what was going to happen to Aria but he didn't think it would be pleasant.

Lust picked up a dart gun of some sort that had magically appeared on the floor. She blew into it and everything turned dark for Ed.

Aria found herself in a dressing room. Several women bustled around her, holding dresses, blouses, and skirts against her. Each time they shook their heads and then went back to examining clothes. Eventually a portly, greying woman laid a midnight blue strapless gown in front of her and took out a box with matching flats.

"This is gorgeous," Aria whispered.

She rubbed the material between her fingers. It was silk, and is flowed through her fingers beautifully. She felt like a princess in a palace. She didn't know how she got here. She didn't remember much of her past either. All she knew was that her name was Aria, she was fifteen years old, and she came from a rich family. She knew she would marry Greed because that was her father's dying wish.

"Do you think Greed will like this?" Aria asked, her eyes unfocused.

"I do, I think he will enjoy seeing you like this," the woman answered.

"What's you name?"

"Mei."

Aria nodded and turned back to the dress. Mei looked at Aria with pity. Her memories had been wiped and altered. She had no idea who she truly was. The only thing Greed had allowed her to remember was her age and her name. He had been hesitant about the name because it might trigger memories, but he found it so pretty and suitable for the girl that he kept it.

Mei knew exactly what would happen to Aria. Greed would first treat her like she was the only important woman in the world, then he would lavish her with gifts of the finest kind, then he would rape her, lastly she would become part of his harem. Mei didn't wish that on anyone, let alone a teenage girl.

_What is it about this girl that makes the master want her so much_, Mei thought, _She's nothing more than a child. Master is a sick, twisted man._

Aria stood up and picked up the dress. She walked behind the dressing screen and began changing. She pulled off her clothes and put on the dress. She walked out, greeted by Mei who was holding a brush in her hand. Aria sat down on the gold chair and faced the vanity mirror.

Mei began to brush Aria's hair, gently stroking it. It was like liquid copper. It ran through her fingers softly and smoothly. There wasn't a single knot and Mei admired that.

"You're ready to see the master," Mei said as she handed Aria her shoes.

Aria took the shoes and slipped them on as she stood up. Greed had requested that she wear no makeup. Her natural beauty shouldn't be sullied by anything artificial was what he specified to Mei when he brought Aria to her.

Mei had taken extra care with Aria. She had given her a perfume bath and then dressed her in light cotton clothes. She never took this much care with Greed's other women but something about Aria made her careful. She knew there was something different about her. She might be an alchemist.

Mei led Aria down a long hallway and into the grand dinning hall. Greed smiled at her and walked over with open arms. He slung an arm around Aria's shoulder and led her to a chair. He pulled it out so that she could sit down. The second Aria was sitting, servants brought giant plates of food.

"Help yourself to whatever you like," Greed grinned.

Aria nodded in thanks and picked up a plate topped with baked potatoes, turkey breast, and took a glass of wine. Greed pulled out a box from his coat pocket. He handed it to Aria and she quietly took it. She didn't act like her old self. Now she was the obedient little mouse her father had tried to make her.

When Aria opened the box, she was amazed to see a gorgeous diamond necklace. Greed happily pulled it out and put in around her neck. He ran a slender finger down the back of her neck cause her to shiver. She didn't know how to react to Greed's advances. It felt unusual to her. All her life she had been called an ugly girl but now she was being treated like she was attractive.

"You're perfect," Greed whispered. "I would love to continue being in your presence, but I have business to attend to."

Aria smiled and nodded as Greed got up. She continued eating her meal while Greed left her alone. Mei walked up to her with a concerned look on her face.

"Miss, I need to take you somewhere," Mei said. "First drink this."

Mei handed Aria a vial marked "memories" and told her to drink every drop. Aria looked confused but did as she was told. After all, that's what she had been doing her whole life. When the vial was empty, Aria started to get sleepy and her eyes glazed over briefly before she jumped out of the chair suddenly.

"Why am I here?" she shouted. "Why am I dressed like this? Where am I? How did I get here?"

"Sshh," Mei soothed. "I'll explain everything to you but not here. We must go to your private quarters. Nobody is allowed in there. Please just act like a perfect princess. Your life depends on it."

Aria glared at the older woman but did as she was told. She wasn't happy about it though. Mei led Aria back to her bedroom and locked the door. This way nobody could enter and Aria could find out everything she needed to know.

"What do I need to know?" Aria asked as she flopped onto the bed.

"Well first of all, you were kidnapped by the homunculi," Mei began, "Greed doesn't want them to hurt you because he wants your body for his enjoyment. To make sure the homunculi didn't hurt you, he wiped your memories to make you useless to them. However, now that your memories have been restored, you're useful to the homunculi once again. We have to get you out of here so that they don't find out you're useful."

Mei handed Aria her old clothes and told her to change into. Aria gratefully took them and ripped off her other clothes. Mei shook her head in amusement. This was definitely a nice change from the perfect princess she had seen earlier. Mei wondered if this was how Aria was like all the time. She was so full of life. It was a waste that Greed had gotten rid of that even briefly.

Mei took Aria's hand and led her down the hallway. It was a different one, long and winding, made of bricks and stone. There were paintings of all the homunculi. Each looked regal and powerful. They commanded respect with their glares. Even gluttony seemed powerful.

Mei walked to the end of the hall, opening a door that led outside.

* * *

Well here we are. At the end of another chapter. how did you like it? Anything you need to tell me? Please leave a review.


	18. Author's Request

Hello my lovely readers! Do not freak out! This is not a notice to tell you the story is taking a break. In fact, this is to ask you all for help. I can't think of anything to write so I'm going to make the next chapter an "Interview Segment." Put questions in the reviews and I'll have the characters answer them for you. I need at least 85 reviews before I make this interview happen. So please leave your question in the review. The entire cast and the authoress is begging you!


	19. Talkshow

The lights in the studio lit up as I, Kitten of Fire (KOF) sat in a bright blue leather chair.

KOF: WELCOME ONE AND ALL!

Ed: Will you shut up? I've had a headache all day because of you.

KOF: That was very hurtful. I cold write you out of the rest of the fic and have Aria fall in love with Roy instead.

The studio door burst open and Roy marched in with a determined look on his face.

Roy: For the purposes of good fiction I shall fall in love with the young colonel.

KOF: See what you caused, Edward?

Ed sweat-dropped at the heroic pose that Roy was currently in. Aria chose this moment to walking into the studio with a doughnut in hand. She munched on it in oblivious bliss.

Aria: What did I miss?

KOF: Nothing out of the ordinary.

Aria sat down next to Ed and saw Al and Karlin playing a game of concentration. She found it funny that her younger sister had found a best friend in a boy nine years older than her. It was adorable in her opinion.

KOF: It seems that a lot of people have sent their questions by inbox so I guess we'll start with this one! Aria, how can Karlin be your clone when she looks nothing like you?

Aria: That's a great question! Well you see the appearance of the person has nothing to do with the soul. My father would have made created a vessel for Karlin's soul and inserted it once the vessel was ready. He most likely designed the vessel to look like his ideal daughter.

KOF: That's really… odd?

Aria: Odd doesn't even begin to describe it.

KOF: Another for Aria! How can you and Karlin be human? That's a great question especially if you were implanted into a vessel.

Aria: Actually, only Karlin was implanted into a vessel. When I died, my body wasn't buried because my father wanted a way to bring me back so that my mother would be happy. Half of my soul was attached to my original body while the other half was left floating around. The half that I have is the half with my memories while the half that Karlin has is the half that contains my innocence.

KOF: So that makes you both immortal?

Aria: No, if I was immortal, I wouldn't be able to age but obviously I can so I'm not immortal.

KOF: What about Karlin?

Aria: I'm not sure, we'll have to wait and see for this one.

KOF: Okay! Well that's it for the serious questions. We now have some fun ones! Here's a question for me: Why does Aria and Ed's relationship seem to be going so fast? Well, the chapters you read aren't the whole story. There are the events that happen between each chapter. For instance there's a six week time-skip between chapter 9 and 10. Obviously those six weeks would give Aria and Ed some time to get to know each other.

Aria: Ed and I have a relationship?

KOF: You didn't know? That's kind of a big part of the story!

Roy: I will not stand for this! My sweet Aria cannot be promised to any man!

Al and Karlin watched everyone fighting and arguing with deadpanned expressions. They didn't know what to do. They could either get involved and risk injury or stay out of it and pretend to be oblivious. Al noticed the note cards in my hand and plucked them from my fingers. He scanned them before taking a deep breath and reading some out.

Al: Ahem, first question I'm reading is… How old is everyone right now?

Karlin: Can I answer that?

Al: Sure, go ahead Karlin

Karlin: YAY! Okay I'll start. Ed is sixteen and Al is fifteen. Roy is about thirty. Now with Aria and me, it gets a little confusing. Physically I look five but in fact I'm three years old. Aria looks like she's fifteen on sixteen but she's ten or eleven.

Al: Does dating Aria make Ed a pedo?

Karlin: No, because she looks fifteen and she was five when she died so technically she is actually fifteen but we don't count the first five years because we start counting from when the person is resurrected.

Al: So Aria is in fact fifteen?

Karlin: In a way…

Al: Okay, now that I'm thoroughly confused, let's move on to another question. Why isn't alchemy used much in this story?

I ran over to Al so that I could get out of the brawl and answer the question. This was an easy one.

KOF: There haven't been any real situations that need Alchemy yet. I mean Ed could've used it at several points in the story, but he's slowly starting to learn that he doesn't have to use alchemy to survive.

Karlin: Why hasn't Aria used her alchemy yet?

The girl in question stuck her head out of the dust cloud caused by all the fighting and chose to answer on her own behalf.

Aria: My alchemy is very destructive so I don't like using it much. I can make anything that casts a shadow blow up. I don't want to kill anyone and so I don't use it often, only in desperate situations.

KOF: Aria, do you love Ed so much that you'd kill Winry?

Aria: Umm… I don't know this Winry person, what are they like?

Ed: She's a bitch!

Al: She's scary!

Ed: She throws wrenches at me! And they hurt!

Aria: Well I guess I'd have to meet her but if I really didn't like her, I might be tempted to blow her up.

KOF: Okay, here's a question for Ed, Al, and Aria! Who is your favourite homunculus? Yes, you do have to answer this.

Aria: I like Envy, he can shape shift. He's pretty hot too!

Al: Hmm… I guess Wrath because he's the youngest and if he wasn't so evil, maybe he and I would be friends.

Ed was fuming from the comment that Aria had made about Envy's appearance. He couldn't believe that he thought that thing was good looking. It looked like a palm tree gone wrong.

Ed: I'd have to say Lust, she's smart and hot, the whole package.

Aria coolly smiled at Ed, she knew what he was trying to do. He wanted to make her jealous and it wasn't working.

KOF: Anyway, what does everyone like to do in their spare time?

Karlin: I like eating and drawing and playing music and shopping with Aria! I also have fun playing with Roy!

The audience "awwwed" at the cute response Karlin gave.

Ed: I like studying and trying to figure out ways to make my alchemy better.

Aria: Well aren't you Mr Boring and Stuffy?

Ed: Like your life is any more interesting.

Aria: Wanna bet? In my free time I like to read and write, play music, garden when I can, try out new recipes, and take Karlin places.

KOF: I think Aria wins in terms of who has a more interesting life.

Al: Ahem, in my spare time I like to help Brother with his research along with trying to find homes for stray cats.

KOF: Well, it looks like everyone does very different preferences for activities they do in their spare time. Our last question was to list playlists for everyone, but I decided to make a separate chapter for that. The next chapter will be everyone's playlists. That's all for now!

Everyone: See you next time!


	20. Playlists :

Okay everyone! Here are the playlists for everyone! The couple's playlist is dedicated to my wonderful boyfriend Levi! :D

* * *

Aria's Playlist

Sweet Jane ~ The Velvet Underground

The Big Empty ~ Stone Temple Pilots

Blow ~ Ke$ha

Yesterday's Feelings ~ The Used

Flower's for a Ghost

* * *

Karlin's Playlist

Upside-Down ~ Jack Johnson

Camilo the Magician ~ Said the Whale

Ed's Playlist

Riot ~ Three Days Grace

Until the Day I Die ~ Story of the Year

I'm just a Kid ~ Simple Plan

My Girlfriend's ex-Boyfriend ~ Reliant K

* * *

Al's Playlist

Stripped ~ Shiny Toy Guns

Marie tu pleuress (Marie you cry) ~ KARKWA

Take a Minute ~ K'naan

* * *

Aria and Ed Playlist (they need a couple's playlist :D)

Cosmic Love ~ Florence and the Machine

Baby I'm Yours ~ Breakbot

First Day of My Life ~ Bright Eyes

1, 2, 3, 4 ~ Plain White T's

Broken ~ Seether ft Amy Lee

Can't Stop Falling ~ Laurell

Say Hey, I love You ~ Michael Franti and Spearhead

Fly Me to the Moon ~ Utada Hikaru (I know it's done by Frank Sinatra but I like this version)


	21. Starlight Tears

Heyo my wonderful readers! I'm back after nearly a month since my last update and I'm ready to make fairly regular updates! Okay so this chapter is pretty sad. I'll warn you now and it was kinda had for me to write certain parts. I got an inbox a few days ago and I was asked if I listen to a playlist or play one song over and over again when I write. Actually, I play one song over and over again. I decided that from now on I would share the songs I listen to for each chapter. This time I listened to two songs. The songs that I played were _Eva _by Orgy and _What Sarah Said _by Deathcab for Cutie. I'll put in the Lyrics at the end of the chapter.

* * *

Aria had been walking in the desert for an unknown amount of time. She could feel fatigue weighing on her feet. Every inch of her hurt. From the top of her head all the way down to her toes, it felt like her whole body was covered in bruises. Every few minutes, Aria examined a hand, an arm, or poked at her stomach to make sure there were no bruises. Every check proved that there was nothing wrong with her.

"I'm so fucking tired!" Aria groaned.

The heat was starting to be too much. Aria just flopped down onto the sandy ground and closed her eyes.

"Heh, I'm such a bad sister," she sighed. "I never even got to say goodbye to Karlin. Oh, and Ed, I never told him I how I feel. I hope he finds a nice girl."

Aria breathed out once more before her breath caught and was no more.

* * *

Ed was running around the city frantically. He needed to find Aria. The homunculi hadn't done anything to him. They just knocked him out and then they left him alone, taking Aria. He had found Al and Karlin and told them to go find an Inn and he'd get back to them as soon as he finished some unfinished business.

Armstrong was helping Ed with his search. They had agreed to meet in the center of the city after three hours and report any progress. Ed had been searching for leads around the city and nothing had appeared. He deduced that his only option was to go into the desert and search for the girl himself.

Ed slowly began to drag himself towards the city center. He had to report his deduction to Armstrong. He was feeling more and more desperate by the second. He didn't know if Aria was even alive anymore. She could be dead for all he knew, and this was all just a wild goose chase.

"Edward," Armstrong greeted kindly. "There have been no signs of Miss Davies in the city."

"I know," Ed said bitterly. "I'm going into the desert to search for her."

"You can't! It's foolish to think that you could find her in that great expanse."

"I have to try."

Ed turned around and began to walk towards the outskirts of the city. He was going to find someone to take him into the desert even if it was starting to get dark. He had to find Aria, no matter what it took.

Eventually after twenty minutes of searching, he found a carriage driver that would take him into the desert. He didn't charge much. He said that the best payment he could get would be a bit of company and some conversation. Ed discovered that this man was from Central and his name happened to be Alex.

"What are you looking for out there?" Alex asked.

"A girl, she's a good friend of mine and she's lost somewhere out there," Ed replied.

"She must be something special."

"Oh she is, trust me. She's incredibly special. By the way, what are you a foreigner doing out here?"

"I work as a delivery man that runs precious cargo between Lior and Central. The military trusts me with some really important cargo."

Ed considered this for a minute. It seemed a bit odd that another foreigner would be in Lior but if his story was true, then he probably delivered Armstrong to Lior. He didn't press the delivery man for details. He probably wouldn't give them anyway.

"How well do you know the desert?" Ed asked.

"Trust me kid," Alex laughed. "Nobody knows this place better than me. I can assure you of that."

"How likely is it do you think that we could find someone?"

"Well it'll be like finding a needle in a haystack. Hard, but not impossible. You just have to take apart the haystack and comb through it, inch by inch until you find the needle."

"Interesting analogy you have there."

"I'm an interesting guy."

The two fell into a comfortable silence. Ed couldn't stop thinking about the girl with sunset in her eyes. Her eyes had a warm glow to them. It seemed that the glow was eternal and couldn't be put out. Even if she was dead her eyes would still contain light and warmth. Ed wasn't in the mood to test out that theory. He wanted Aria alive and he would do anything to keep her that way.

"There's something about the air tonight," Alex whispered. "It's heavy with pain and despair. Somebody must have suffered a great deal here."

"How do you know?" Ed asked.

"It's a hunch."

Ed felt disturbed by this revelation. What if something had happened to Aria and Ed couldn't help her. He would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to her and there had been a chance he could have saved her.

Ed could see a shape in the distance. It was darker than the sand and it also resembled a lump. He jumped off the carriage while it was still moving and ran towards it. There was a chance that it was Aria. He needed to know what he was looking at. Aria would probably tell him that it was his curiosity that would be his downfall but right now he didn't care.

He dropped onto his knees and rolled the shape over. It was wearing clothing it was cold. He looked at the face, and even in the darkness he could recognize the person as Aria. Her face, illuminated by moonlight looked ghostly and lifeless.

He cradled her head and began to weep bitter tears. He never thought that he'd lose another person so soon. This time it wasn't just he and Al that would get hurt, it was Karlin and Roy, and everyone who had befriended Aria throughout her life. He didn't know what he would tell Roy. He would never forgive him. He had let the precious Shadow Alchemist die on a mission.

It would be nearly impossible to break it to Karlin. Aria was the only family the little girl had. She would be losing a huge part of her world. Hell, Aria was Karlin's whole world and nothing less.

Ed cradled Aria's tiny body and hugged it to him. His tears fell on her cheeks. He had never felt this way before. It felt as if someone had told his heart out of his chest and it had been ripped into a million pieces. He felt the same way now as he did when his mother died.

"I'm sorry, Aria," Ed whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

* * *

How do you like that for a chapter? I know it's so sad. What do you think should happen to Aria? Do you want her to stay dead or do you want me to bring her back to life? Tell me what you think! It feels like nobody is really reading this. I want to know who is reading this through your reviews. I like Emails from fanfiction! Oh and here are the lyrics:

* * *

_**Eva**_ by Orgy

_You know I've started to grow since you've been away_  
_Lately, it's scarier not knowing what's become of you_  
_Are you proud of me now, I can't tell_  
_I'm not as fearless as you_  
_Still I pretend that you're still standing by_  
_To show me wrong from right_  
_Never got a chance to say goodbye..._

_Take this gift from me_  
_Hold it deep in mind_  
_Forever and never let this go_

_I used to think you were crazy_  
_When you were hooked to the screen_  
_But now they tell me that you're in a better place_  
_But where did you go?_  
_And I swear sometimes you're watching over me_  
_Still I'd give the world for the chance,_  
_just to see your face again_

_Still I pretend that you're still standing by_  
_To show me wrong from right_  
_Never got a chance to say goodbye_

_Take this gift from me_  
_Hold it deep in mind_  
_Forever and never let this go_

_Now... now there's nothing left but time_  
_Know that I'm following you_  
_Eva's always on my mind_  
_And it makes me wonder..._  
_What happened to you?_

_You know it makes me wonder..._

_Still I pretend that you're still standing by_  
_To show me wrong from right_  
_Never got a chance to say goodbye..._

_Take this gift from me_  
_Hold it deep in mind_  
_Forever and never let this go_

_And never let this go... away_

* * *

_**What Sarah Said **_by Deathcab for Cutie

_And it came to me then_  
_That every plan is a tiny prayer to Father Time_  
_As I stared at my shoes in the ICU_  
_That reeked of piss and 409_  
_And I rationed my breaths as I said to myself_  
_That I'd already taken too much today_  
_As each descending peak on the LCD_  
_Took you a little farther away from me_  
_Away from me_

_Amongst the vending machines and year-old magazines_  
_In a place where we only say goodbye_  
_It stung like a violent wind that our memories depend_  
_On a faulty camera in our minds_  
_But I knew that you were a truth_  
_I would rather lose than to have never lain beside at all_  
_And I looked around at all the eyes on the ground_  
_As the TV entertained itself_

_'Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room_  
_Just nervous paces bracing for bad news_  
_Then the nurse comes around and everyone lifts their head_  
_But I'm thinking of what Sarah said_  
_That love is watching someone die_

_So who's going to watch you die_  
_So who's going to watch you die_  
_So who's going to watch you die_


	22. Here Comes Goodbye

Okay, I get it, everyone hates me because Aria is "dead" and I didn't say why. The reason she's out cold is because she's exhausted from everything that happened in Greed's lair. She got her memories taken away and that would have been stressful on the body. Then she gets her memories back and her mind has to take in so much information in such a short amount of time. Obviously the body wouldn't be able to handle that very easily so it just shuts down.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story! Your reviews make me smile. I love getting reviews from the best because that tells me that I'm not writing this story for nothing. Oh yeah, I got and inbox message from someone asking if I planned on ending this story any time soon and going to focus on another fandom or starting a whole new FMA fic. If anyone else was curious about that, the answer is that I'm not going to be starting anything new until I finish this fic and I don't plan on ending it for a while. I was hoping to get it into the 50-60 chapter range. Except, it's so much fun to write it, I don't really want to end it. So I hope that answers your question my wonderful reader.

I'm doing reader shout-outs again! I'm hoping that the fact that if you review this story, I'll mention you in a chapter will inspire more people to review. To help me with the shout-outs are Aria and Karlin!

* * *

KOF: Hey **starkyo**! You were the first person to review this chapter

Aria: Yay for you! *claps*

Karlin: I'm glad you're enjoying this story! It makes me happy, almost as much as spending time with Aria does! *smiles sweetly*

KOF: Awww, isn't Karlin just the sweetest little girl? I know you hated Ed in the last chapter, well you're gonna really hate him in this chapter.

* * *

KOF: **KuroTenshiAkuma**, fear not, I will explain everything Aria related to you in this chapter.

Aria: I hope I'm not dead, because If I am then that means I won't appear in anymore shout-outs.

KOF: Fear not! All shall be explained in this chapter! Also thank you for sticking with this story from the very first chapter! :D

* * *

KOF: Thank you for bringing that up **Ed'.Kitten**! This time the chapter is much longer. I hope you enjoy it.

Karlin: I hope you enjoy it too, KOF spent and extra long time working on it.

* * *

KOF: I think you'll find Aria's state of being is to your taste in this chapter, **SilverNightBlade**.

Aria: in other words that means?

KOF: I can't tell you because that would be giving away the chapter and that's not fair to the rest of the readers.

Aria: Fine, be that way.

* * *

Oh and the song for this chapter is _**Here Comes Goodbye **_by The Rascal Flatts

* * *

"_Aria… Aria come back…"_

Aria's eyes twitched. She could feel something hot and wet falling onto her cheeks. It was so nice to keep her eyes closed but she knew that her curiosity would get the better of her eventually. Until then she would just stay in her safe Limbo. After all, when she opened her eyes she would be in the afterlife, far away from all that she loved.

This time when she opened her eyes she wouldn't see Ed. Instead she might see her mother. Maybe she'd see her grandmother's smiling face.

"_I wonder if there's food in the afterlife. My mother's pies and my grandmother's biscuits were truly something to be marvelled at_," Aria wondered to herself.

Now the warm liquid on her cheeks felt annoying. She had to find out what it was. Her need for knowledge was getting the best of her. She just had to know. That curiosity was insatiable until she knew everything. She had always been the five year old that asked "why" for everything.

Opening her eyes, Aria saw a head leaning over her. The owner of that head had long blonde hair that was falling into her eyes. She blew it out of the way because she didn't have the strength in her arms to physically move it.

Ed opened his eyes, surprised at the sudden movement from his hair. It was as if a breeze had come but there was no wind to be seen in this desert. He looked down at Aria, he knew it would be pointless but he still hoped that she would be alive with her eyes open and staring at him.

Aria's warm eyes stared up, and she mustered up all her strength to place her hand on Ed's cheek. She smiled at him.

"I heard you calling," Aria breathed.

Ed pulled her close, more tears falling from his eyes. He couldn't believe she was alive. It was so unbelievable that Ed couldn't help but believe it. Slowly Ed got up and carried Aria bridal style over to the carriage. He treated her like she was made of porcelain.

* * *

The trip back took nearly an hour and Alex waved them off with a smile. The next challenge before Ed was figuring out which motel Al and Karlin had decided to rest in. Luckily the streets were empty so Ed didn't have to worry about dealing with crowds. It was too late still for people to be awake and moving around.

Searching didn't take long. Ed saw a motel with Armstrong standing guard in front and knew in an instant that, that was where he needed to go. Armstrong greeted Ed with a shoulder squeeze. He took one look at Aria and his eyes became stormy and depressed.

"Is she…" Armstrong began but couldn't bring himself to finish his question.

"She's alive. Barely, but she's alive," Ed said. "She's exhausted and she needs a long rest. After that I'm sure she'll be fine."

Armstrong looked instantly relieved. He didn't doubt Ed's judgement; after all, Ed wanted the girl alive more than anyone else. Besides, if anything happened to Aria, Roy would have the heads of everyone involved. His wrath was not something anyone wanted to face.

"Sister," Karlin exclaimed.

Aria weakly turned her head to look at Karlin. She saw the young girl had red, puffy eyes and tear stains ran down her cheeks. She couldn't bear to think that she had caused the little girl so much pain.

"Ed, put me down," Aria demanded.

Ed was going to protest but he couldn't find the words. He just gaped like a fish while helping Aria slowly stand up on her own. He wasn't sure why he was so speechless but he assumed it was because Aria, weakly whispered her demand at him. Even though the whisper was weak, she still held an air of power about her that let him know that if he defied her wish, he'd deeply regret it.

She swayed a bit but soon Aria had caught herself enough to kneel down in front of Karlin. Aria was amazed at how much her body could withstand. A normal human body would most likely be dead by now or at the least unconscious. Aria wondered if her stamina was due to the red water injected into her. If it was, she had to wonder how long the water's positive effects would last before something truly negative happened.

"Come here," Aria whispered, weakly holding out her arms.

Karlin ran to her sister. Aria could feel exhaustion prickling at her toes. Her consciousness was ebbing away slowly. She was at her limit. She would pass out again soon. Bradley had explained this to her once before. He told her that the water would repair her body when she got injured, but to do that it would put her into an almost comatose state. He warned her against fighting the effects because the longer she stayed weakened, the higher the chance the red water would try and corrode her insides.

Karlin clung to Aria as if her life depended on it and sobbed into her sister's clothes. She didn't want to lose her sister ever again. She hated this helpless feeling, knowing that anything could happen and she was powerless to stop it. At five years old, Karlin was observant enough to know when something serious was happening even when adults didn't tell her.

"Don't leave me," Karlin sobbed. "I don't wanna lose you ever again."

Aria rested her chin on the top of Karlin's head briefly. She could feel herself getting weak again, like she had in the desert. Gently she pushed Karlin away before she passed out again. Everyone stared in shock for a moment before Armstrong sprang to Aria's side. He easily scooped her up and carried her inside the motel. Al took Karlin's hand and led the crying girl inside. Ed was left outside on his own. He crumpled onto the ground. No matter what he did, people always got hurt. No matter how hard he tried to prevent it, those that he loved always got hurt.

Suddenly, a thought hit Ed. He mentally punched and kicked himself multiple times. He needed to be strong for everyone. He would find a way to destroy the homunculi so that everyone's lives could be easier. With them in the background, Ed knew that life couldn't go on normally for the Davies sisters or Al and himself. They were a constant, ominous presence in the siblings' minds.

Ed got back to his feet and with renewed determination he walked into the motel. He asked the man at the front desk to tell him what room everyone was. He got directed to rooms 204 and 205. Practically sprinting up the stairs, he soon found himself nose to nose with Al.

"Hey Brother," Al smiled. "What do you want to do now? Do you think we should stay in Lior?"

"We can't stay here because it's not safe. It's only a matter of time before the homunculi come after us again," Ed replied.

"Do you think it's safe to move Aria."

Ed considered this for a moment, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure she can endure a train ride."

"Where would we take her?"

"Why don't we go back home?"

Al nodded and walked over to the room labelled 204. He turned the handle and opened the door. Ed assumed that this was the room he and Al were to share. He could hear voices coming from the room next to it. Armstrong was talking to Karlin. He seemed to be explaining something. His explanation was interrupted by an occasional loud sob.

Ed marched over to the door and swung it open. He was about to yell at Armstrong for making Karlin cried when he saw the large man reading a story book to the girl. Ed sighed in relief. Armstrong was only trying to comfort Karlin. Her sobs were probably still because of her fear. Small things made children fearful but something like this could have them crying for hours even after they were reassured that everything would be alright.

"Armstrong," Ed began, announcing his presence. "We're boarding the first train to Resembool tomorrow morning."

"Are you sure that would be wise?" Armstrong asked.

"Aria will be fine. We just won't let her move around too much."

"I assume that you'll be bringing me along?"

"Well Karlin does need a babysitter and Al can't just be doing that."

"Hey!" Karlin glared. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm a big girl!"

Ed shrugged and began to walk out the door. "Her Karlin, do you want to sleep in my room tonight? Aria told me you hate sleeping alone."

Karlin's eyes brightened at the idea of not having to be alone that night. The dark scared her more than anything. When she was sleeping, screams of tortured victims tore through her nightmares. When she awoke from them, if she was alone in the dark she often believed that she hadn't woken up at all. However, if there was somebody close by when she slept, Karlin would know it had been just a dream and go back to sleep with hopes of better dreams appearing.

* * *

Morning swiftly appeared and before anyone knew it, they were on the first train to Resembool. Aria hadn't regained consciousness yet, the red water inside her was working furiously at repairing her tired body. Karlin spent the whole train ride unmoving- save for several forced bathroom trips- and clutching on to Aria's hand.

Ed dozed on and off during the long trip while Al spent most of his time staring out the window. Armstrong had been given a private compartment next to the rest of them because his sheer size wouldn't allow him to fit in the other compartment. He felt somewhat lonely over there by himself but occasionally Al would come visit and they would talk for a bit.

The train ride itself took about a day and a half before they arrived as Resembool Station. Aria had briefly regained consciousness just before the train stopped. Ed and Karlin jumped at the sight of her eyes flickering open briefly before she closed them again. Ed hypothesized that she was in a very deep sleep rather than a coma.

Armstrong carried Aria while Ed and Al were put in charge of luggage. Karlin trailed behind them. She was still fighting off tears, fearful that her sister would never come to. After about an hour of walking, and much complaining from Ed, they arrived at the Rockbell residence.

Pinako walked out while Winry threw a wrench at Ed from the balcony. The group could see Ed's soul slowly floating away from his body but nobody did anything to stop it.

"Well?" Pinako began. "What are you waiting for? You have a girl here who seems to need serious medical attention. Bring her inside."

Armstrong followed behind the smaller woman. Pinako led him into a recovery room they used for automail rehabilitations. There was a comfortable bed that would allow Pinako to examine Aria. She was no expert but in her younger days she had been a doctor.

"I will take my leave now," Armstrong announced. "Take good care of her."

Pinako nodded and turned around. She was going to have to strip Aria down to see if she had any injuries. She'd rather not have anyone around her when she did it, it wasn't fair to the girl.

Armstrong said his farewells to the Elric brothers, Winry, and Karlin. He gently hugged the little girl and told her to take good care of her big sister. Karlin nodded, not looking up from her feet. She was going to be strong for Aria's sake.

The rest of the group had moved into the main living area of the Rockbell residence and were each drinking something hot. Ed, Al, and Winry were each enjoying a hot cup of coffee while Karlin enjoyed a mug of hot cocoa. According to Winry, hot cocoa was good for a broken heart.

Pinako walked out about an hour later. She stared steadily at the brothers and shook her head.

"I finished examining the girl," she announced. "There's nothing too severely wrong with her. She's just exhausted. There are several old scars on her body and based on the discolouration on her skin in some areas there's some internal bleeding. She's not going to die from the bleeding and there's really nothing else I can do for her. I want her to stay here at least a week for recovery."

Everyone besides Karlin nodded. Pinako would have easily overlooked the extremely tiny girl but her unusual appearance led her eyes straight towards the youngest Davies sister. Pinako walked straight up to her and placed a gentle, comforting hand on Karlin's shoulder.

"What's your name?" Pinako asked kindly.

"Karlin," Karlin sniffed.

"Is that girl your sister?"

Karlin slowly nodded. Pinako could see the girl was distressed. A fool could see that. She wondered if Karlin would need sedatives to get to sleep.

"Can you tell me her name?" Pinako requested.

"Aria," Karlin choked out.

She had said the name in such a way that it seemed like by saying the world, Karlin was condemning her sister to die. Pinako couldn't understand this behaviour. She had never seen something like this before in another child. Most children got a bit shy when asked questions, some would boldly answer, but never in her long life had she seen a five year old choke out an answer. It was odd, this girl needed to be studied.

Karlin was allowed to sleep on a cot in the same room as the Elric brothers. She didn't know what to do while she waited for Aria to wake up. She didn't know how long it would take for Aria to wake up, if she ever woke up. That was a thought that cut into Karlin each time she even considered it. In a split second, she might not have a sister anymore.

* * *

One morning, Karlin was out in the front tending to flowers with Den at her side. She liked the big dog with the automail leg. He was a good friend when Ed and Al were studying alchemy. That's all they had been doing for the past two days. She didn't see them at all, save for they came out to eat meals. Karlin didn't know much about alchemy. She would have studied her father's books but at the time she couldn't read plus the books had very few pictures. Karlin didn't know how a book with no interesting pictures could be good or useful.

On the morning she was out with Den, it was fairly early and Pinako had sent her out to water the flowers before the sun got too bright. Her watering can had run out of water and she was going to the well behind the house to re-fill it. She smiled at the thought of how proud Aria would be when she saw Karlin tending to the flowers responsibly. She had stopped thinking that Aria might die and was instead thinking about what they would do together when she was okay to get out of bed.

The sound of talking people caught Karlin's attention. She could recognize the voices as Ed and Winry's. The were too faraway for her to make out the words. She slowly began to creep forward, careful not to get caught. She peeked out from behind the bushes like a little ninja. She almost dropped her watering can at the sight in front of her.

Before her stood Ed and Winry passionately kissing. Winry's hands were tangled in Ed's hair while his hand slowly slipped up her shirt. They parted briefly to look at each other before resuming the kiss. Karlin didn't miss the look Ed had given Winry. He looked at her with a gaze that was mixture of lust, longing, and love. He had never looked at Aria like that and Karlin had been so sure that Ed loved Aria.

Before she could witness anything more, Karlin ran away with her watering can in tow. She ran to an old oak tree a ways away from the house. She leaned against the trunk, hugging her watering can to herself and sobbed like there was no tomorrow. It wasn't fair. Aria deserved her happy ending with Ed, not Winry. Aria deserved a happy ending more than anyone else.

"It's… it's… it's not fair," Karlin wailed.

* * *

How do you like that my wonderful readers? You all finally get a chapter with some meat on it. I really enjoyed writing this chapter even though the ending breaks my heart every time I read it. What do you think should happen next? Should Ed still end up with Aria? Should both Aria and Winry leave him with a broken heart? Should something else happen? Tell me what you think in a review. Here are the lyrics for this chapter. I think the song really works well. Tell me what you think.

_**Here Comes Goodbye **_by The Rascal Flatts

I can hear the truck tires coming up the gravel road  
And it's not like her to drive that slow, nothing's on the radio  
Footsteps on the front porch  
I hear my door bell  
She usually comes right in  
Now I can tell

Here comes goodbye  
Here comes the last time  
Here comes the start of every sleepness night  
The first of every tear I'm gonna cry  
Here comes the pain  
Here comes me wishing things had never changed  
And she was right here in my arms tonight  
But here comes goodbye

I can hear her say "I Love You" like it was yesterday  
And I can see it written on her face, that she had never felt this way  
One day I thought I'd see her with her daddy by her side  
And violins would play here comes the bride

But here comes goodbye  
Here comes the last time  
Here comes the start of every sleepness night  
The first of every tear I'm gonna cry  
Here comes the pain  
Here comes me wishing things had never changed  
And she was right here in my arms tonight  
But here comes goodbye

Why does it have to go from good to bad  
Before the lights turn on  
Yea and you're left alone  
Ohhhhhhhhhh  
But here comes goodbye  
Ohhhhhhhhhh

Here comes goodbye  
Here comes the last time  
Here comes the start of every sleepness night  
The first of every tear I'm gonna cry  
Here comes the pain  
Here comes me wishing things had never changed  
And she was right here in my arms tonight  
But here comes goodbye


	23. The Next Chapter

Okay, a new chapter is out. I hope you all enjoy it. I had a bit of a tough time writing it because I didn't know how to orchestrate the confrontation scene. Karlin's hatred for Ed is at an all time high right now. Okay now for shout-outs! With me today is Karlin.

* * *

Karlin: Well, Alex Spotlight, I don't like Ed much. He's mean to Aria, I don't like that.

KOF: Don't worry, Ed will get what's coming to him.

* * *

KOF: I don't think Karlin minds your language starkyo. In her opinion he deserves more punishment.

Karlin: Yeah, Ed should go die.

KOF: Don't worry though, Aria and Ed will find a way to be together, they just need some time apart.

* * *

KOF: Hey Evil Robina, I'm glad you like my avatar. I love Lavi too. He's one of my favourite characters in the show. I'm thinking of doing a -Man fanfic next. Yeah, I hate Winry too. She'll get what's coming to her though.

* * *

Karlin: SilverNightBlade, you don't have to worry for much longer. Aria and Ed will end up together. KOF is just gonna make Ed pay for his actions.

* * *

KOF: Yep, KuroTenshiAkuma, the reviewer shout-outs are back! I'm glad you like this story. That makes me happy to hear that I have a fan :)

* * *

KOF: Don't worry Yami Sora92, there will be tons of drama still to come.

* * *

Three days after arriving at the Rockbell home, Aria finally awoke. Pinako had been checking on her when her eyes opened. It wasn't just fluttering like before, this time her eyes opened wide. Pinako waited, watching for about two minutes when she determined that Aria was in fact awake.

She hustled out of the room and rushed to find the others. She had to report the good news. The first person she found was Ed, he was sitting at the kitchen table reading an alchemy text while holding a coffee mug in hand.

Pinako assumed that Al and Karlin were out for a walk. They took afternoon walks together around the village. Al confided in Pinako that he felt Karlin needed to be out of the house as much as possible. It seemed like the younger Elric was taking full responsibility for Karlin. He made sure she ate enough, that she was sleeping enough, and made sure she was out of the house as much as possible.

"Ed, your girl is awake," Pinako announced.

"She's not my girl," Ed mumbled.

"Well whatever she is to you, you should go see her."

Ed nodded and got up from the table. His coffee had long since gone cold. He wasn't sure why he still held on to it though. Slowly, he began to make his way to Aria's room. He wondered what state she would be. He expected that she would still be pretty beat up. He was the only one who hadn't gone to visit her at least once in the past few days. Even Winry went to check up on Aria.

"Hey, Ed," Aria whispered when she saw the blonde boy in the doorway.

"Hey," Ed greeted back.

He walked up to the bed and sat down on the chair next to it. He didn't know what to say. There wasn't much he could say to a girl who had been out like a light for almost a week.

"How's Karlin?" Aria asked.

"You _would _ask that," Ed smirked. "She's fine. She and Al spend a lot of time together. It's kinda cute to see them."

"That's good, at least I know she wasn't lonely while I was out. How long have I been out?"

"Almost a week."

Aria gaped at Ed. She looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. She couldn't believe she had been recovering for almost a week. Her body still felt sore and tired. Obviously the red water hadn't done much for her weariness.

"How are you feeling, Aria," Pinako asked from behind Ed, making both teenagers jump.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Aria demanded weakly.

"I'm Pinako Rockbell, your doctor. Your sister told me your name, cute kid she is. Now answer my question," Pinako said.

"I feel fine, just tired and weak."

"Good, good, that's to be expected. I don't want you even thinking about getting out of this bed unless totally necessary."

Aria already admired the tiny old lady. She was strong, and wilful. She didn't let anyone stand between her and what she wanted. Aria wished that she could be like that. It would make life so much easier. She might be able to stand against the homunculi with an iron will like that one.

Ed looked at Karlin with a look of sadness on his face. He felt as if he had betrayed her.

_I couldn't have done anything wrong…_

**Then why do you feel so bad?**

_Who is this?_

**I'm inner-you. I tell you when you really screw up.**

_What did I do this time?_

**You were acting like a teenage boy. I know you're head over heels for this girl but did you really have to make out with your childhood friend?**

_It's not my fault! She was just there, and I felt lonely and I don't know what else. I don't even know why I did it but I did._

**You can't change the past, I know, but that past will affect the future.**

_What does that mean?_

**You're the genius, figure it out yourself.**

_Wait! Come back!_

Ed waited for the voice in his head to come back but his thoughts remained silent. He didn't know what to think. This insane voice had just reminded him of the stupidest mistake he had ever made. He couldn't believe that he had even considered Winry when Aria was right there. He needed to only wait a few days and then he could continue trying to make a relationship with Aria happen.

"Okay, I'm gonna leave you kids alone," Pinako announced. "Ed, don't stay too long, Aria needs to rest."

"Yeah, okay Granny," Ed called to Pinako as she exited the room. "So…"

"So…" Aria replied.

"How long are you going to stay in town?" Ed asked suddenly.

"Whoa, I'm awake for five minutes and you already want to get rid of me," Aria teased.

Ed looked sheepish at Aria's words. He wanted her out of town and back to Central as soon as possible. He needed to clear things up with Winry before he could deal with Aria. He had to make clear to his childhood friend that his heart lay with they girl lying in bed before him.

With Aria there things would become more complicated because she could overhear something and might think that he was in love with Winry and his chances with her would be ruined.

"I think I'll be leaving at the end of the week," Aria finally said. "There's no reason for Karlin and I to stick around when Roy needs us."

"Okay," Ed nodded. "Al and I will follow after you soon."

Ed turned around about to walk out the door when he was stopped in his tracks by Karlin. The little girl's face was tear-stained and the glare she sent at him was deadly. Al stood behind her with a glare on his face as well. His wasn't murderous but it was still angry.

"Sister!" Karlin exclaimed when she saw Aria awake. "I was so worried! I thought that you might never wake up…"

"Don't worry about me Karlin," Aria reassured. "I'm always going to be here for you. I'm not going anywhere unless you're coming with me. We're sisters after all."

Karlin smiled and sat down in the chair by Aria's bedside. She chatted with Aria, happily babbling about her new garden. Aria nodded, only partially listening. She was getting tired. The light was fading a bit from her eyes.

Al grabbed Ed's arm, dragging him out of the room, shoving him down the hall, and pushing him out the front door. Ed hadn't noticed before but Al was considerably bigger than him. He felt nervous around his brother for the first time in his life. If he was angry enough and if he wanted to, Al could do serious damage to Ed.

"How could you do that to Aria?" Al growled.

"What?" Ed asked in confusion.

"You kissed Winry," Al exclaimed. "Of all the people to hurt, you chose Aria."

"She doesn't know. So how could I be hurting her?"

"You kissed Winry?" Aria asked from the doorway.

Ed and Al spun around to look at her. Ed looked like a puppy that had been kicked while Al looked at Aria with pity. Tears formed in the girls eyes. She wanted to ask why but it didn't matter anyway. Ed didn't love her, he loved Winry.

"Ed, tell Pinako Karlin and I took the train to Central," Aria announced.

Ed nodded dumbly. Aria walked into to the house only to walk back out again a few minutes later in clean clothes while carrying her luggage. Karlin walked behind Aria. The sisters approached Al and each gave him a hug. They hoped that the three of them could meet again some day. When they passed by Ed, Aria didn't even look at him. She just kept walking, while Karlin gave him the dirtiest look she could muster.

"We're starting a new chapter in our lives," Aria announced to Karlin. "This chapter doesn't involve the Elric brothers though."

* * *

Well there you go, the next chapter in this fic. I hope you guys enjoy it. One of my friends pointed out that alchemy isn't used much or at all in this story. The reason is that I think the characters need to learn to live without alchemy and solve their problems without magic, the alchemy just helps. I was just wondering this: how much would you hate me if I killed off Karlin?

* * *

_Adolescents_ by Incubus

_I'm feeling out of bounds, out of bounds_  
_I'm running out of time, out of time_  
_I know there's no such thing as either of them_  
_But it's doesn't make me feel any better._  
_out of sight, out of mind_  
_out of sight, out of mind_  
_we're out of time_  
_we're out of mind_  
_out of mind_  
_out of mind_  
_yeah, yeah_  
_I'm feeling overwhelmed, overwhelmed_  
_it's getting out of line, line, line, line_  
_I know I'm not alone_  
_Just adolescents, you and I_  
_It doesn't make me feel any better_  
_out of sight, out of mind_  
_out of sight, out of mind_  
_we're out of time_  
_we're out of mind_  
_out of mind_  
_out of mind_  
_yeah, (yeah) yeah_

_out of sight, out of mind_  
_out of sight, out of mind_  
_we're out of time_  
_we're out of mind_  
_out of mind_  
_out of mind_  
_we're out of mind_  
_yeah_


	24. Dinner Disaster

Hello everyone! I know it's been a while but I've had exams to study for. Now that they're finally done, I can continue this story with no problems. You can expect very regular updates for the rest of the summer. I'm pretty sure you'll get an update a few times per week. Those chapters might not be very long but hey, at least something is being added. Anyway, this chapter is the longest one I've ever written. So enjoy!

Aria was at the Central Market buying apples for apple pie when she saw Karlin running towards her. Aria found this a little strange considering Karlin should be in school right about now. The exclusive Central Alchemic Academy or CAA was where all aspiring alchemists with talent under the age of eighteen were sent. Roy had it built in about three months when he found out Aria planned on sending Karlin to school

"_You did what?" Aria shrieked._

"_I built a school, in Karlin's honour," Roy replied calmly._

"_I heard you the first time, but was an entire school really necessary?"_

"_Central was long overdue for a school devoted to training alchemists of the state."_

_Aria blanched her face livid with anger. "So that's your plan? You want to make her a dog of the military. What me to get her a leash and collar too? Might as well get her ready as soon as possible."_

_Roy quickly picked up on his mistake. He was well aware after all, that Aria was protective of Karlin. They were each other's everything. If anything happened to Karlin and Roy was connected to it in any way, no matter how remotely, Aria would have his head on the chopping block before anyone would even have a chance to blink._

"_What I mean was, that if Karlin ever displayed any sort of interest in joining the military, she would be perfectly prepared," Roy corrected himself. "If she wants to join, I won't make her take the exam, she need only ask me."_

_Aria smirked, she had backed Roy into a corner and he had smoothly gotten himself out. She had expected no different from the man who had become Furor. After a short stare down, Aria waved and left Roy to his paperwork. She didn't think he would be finishing it anytime soon, but she might as well give him the opportunity to try._

Aria giggled to herself a bit at the memory. She still couldn't believe that the school was built for Karlin. Roy had bee trying, for months to get Aria to work there but she refused. Working as a teacher, confined by four walls, and chained by the minds of many students just wasn't for her. She needed the freedom to explore and do mission outside, if for no other reason than to avoid a chance meeting with a certain someone she didn't like.

When Aria saw Karlin running towards her, all of seven years old, Karlin knew something was up. If nothing else but an early dismissal, Karlin was out of school and now they would spend some time together.

"Hey chickadee," Aria smiled. "Why are you out of school?"

"It's an early dismissal," Karlin replied. "Can I spend the day with my friends?"

"Sure, just be home by eleven."

"Why? It's Saturday tomorrow, I wanna sleep over at Jenny's house."

"Fine, but you're in charge of getting yourself home tomorrow. I expect to see you before two in the afternoon."

Karlin bounded off, towards her waiting friends. Aria felt a sting in her heart. There was a time when Karlin only wanted to be around Aria, when Aria was her whole world. That changed this year when Karlin made friends her own age.

Aria was happy about this though. Gone was the little girl who would have cried at the thought of being away from Aria even for a short. Now, before her stood a girl that wanted nothing more than to please everyone around her, to be the perfect alchemist. Event though she hated it, Aria knew Karlin would join the military as an alchemist belonging to Roy. On that day, Aria wouldn't be able to protect Karlin, something she had been trying to do the whole time.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Aria turned back to her task. She needed some good apples for apple pie. Roy was coming over for dinner and apparently, her apple pie was better than any he had ever tried. She needed to get home soon though, Roy didn't like to be kept waiting, and under no circumstances did Aria like to keep people waiting.

After she paid for the apples, Aria began walking home. Home was an understatement. Roy had provided a manor that rivalled his own. Aria wanted to protest but in a flurry of blueprints and building contracts, there was no time. She still sighed in exasperation every time she thought about it.

"_Karlin and I are going to move to Central," Aria announced. "We're going to buy a house and enjoy a nice life here."_

"_When do you plan on moving?" Roy asked._

"_I'm not sure. Hopefully soon."_

"_Let me take care of the details, I'll find you somewhere nice."_

_Aria nodded, happy that she wouldn't have to deal with many of the major details of moving. This was she could figure out how she was going to move her stuff and what she was going to buy for the new home. She would make it perfect for Karlin, everything better than they could have imagined._

_**Two months later**_

_Aria stood in front of the house gaping like a fish out of water. It hardly counted as a house. The land is sat on was probably larger than some small countries she had visited. There was a large fountain in front shaped like a unicorn. The water spouted out of its horn. Karlin ran around the grounds like a child who had just been given a mass amount of sugar. _

"_Are we gonna live here?" Karlin shouted from somewhere on the front lawn._

"_I think so," Aria shouted back._

"_Cool! We get to live in a castle!"_

_Aria continued to gape like a fish. Roy just stood there, looking proudly at the home he had provided for Aria. She was going to be living in luxury for the rest of her life, well if he had a say in it. _

"_What do you think?" Roy finally asked. _

"_I think that I am going to faint," Aria breathed._

"_So I take it you like it?"_

"_I'm not sure if like is the right word. It's more of I'm astounded that you funded something like this."_

_Roy clapped Aria on the back, and told her to look inside. He walked over to his car. He needed to get back to work. Well, he at least needed to be in his office. Doing work on the other hand was another story._

Aria opened the giant oak doors and began to walk through the hall, turning on lights wherever she went. The heels of her shoes clicked wherever she went. She enjoyed the sound. It sounded like there was somebody tap-dancing down the halls. She found her way to the kitchen and then began to prepare the food for her and Roy.

She saw the letter he had sent her sitting on the counted and picked it up. She read it to remind herself of what needed to be done for tonight.

_Dear Aria,_

_As I sit here, I am avoiding work. It is very boring to sit in front of a desk and do nothing. Don't laugh at me for that. I really do dislike being bored. Though, I guess I do bring it upon myself in a way. I really should start doing some of that paperwork that I have left to do. Neglecting it is really no doing me any favours but I hate sitting and spending hours upon hours signing pointless documents. I'm the head of the state! Shouldn't I be allowed to decide what I do, when I do it, and how I do it?_

_Okay, I got a little off topic here but I wanted to ask if I could come over for dinner on Friday. I would like some lemon chicken with steamed vegetables. Would you make some of your delicious apple pie to? I'd be so happy!_

_On a side note, the State Alchemist exams are coming up soon and I was wondering if you would help me oversee them. Has Karlin shown any interest in taking the exam? I don't mean now, she's too young but I was thinking in the future she would be a good candidate. Please don't strangle me for saying that. Alright this letter is getting long and I'm about to go to lunch. I'm having steak with corn on the cob and some fine wine. Hope to hear from you soon._

_Love,_

_Roy_

The letter made her laugh. The topic was all over the place. She knew Roy was horrible at staying on topic when he wrote letters to her. She did try to teach him how to write properly but that failed miserably. His writing was neat at least. It looked nice, silver ink on the cream coloured paper.

"Alright, time to begin," Aria declared.

That night, Roy walked into the front doors of Aria's home and was taken aback by the delicious smells. He was surprised he had even been invited to dinner considering he had invited himself and did demand a certain menu from her. He didn't hear laughter coming from anywhere so he assumed that Karlin was out. That was in his favour, he needed to discuss having Ed and Aria work together again. They had only been partners for about two and a half months.

"Hey Roy!" Aria called. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Not a problem," Roy smiled. "I'm hoping your food is as good as it always is."

"Do you doubt my cooking abilities?"

"Not in the least."

Aria glared at Roy and he swallowed. He had learned to never question a woman's ability to cook because she could possibly try and poison you. He learned that the hard way from girlfriend number fifteen. He had stopped keeping track of his ex's names, just giving them a number.

Roy sat down at high-backed chair across from Aria. He observed the girl whose life he had saved not too many years ago. She hadn't grown much or changed since she took up permanent residence in Central. The biggest change was that she had become much more closed in. She didn't like talking to people unless it was absolutely necessary. The two exceptions to this rule seemed to be Roy and Karlin. That's why Roy felt a strong need to have Karlin join the military. She would be more protected that way and she would be able to gain independence while still remaining close to Aria.

"Have you spoken to the Elric brothers?" Roy finally asked.

Aria nearly dropped the dish she was carrying into the dinning room. She shook her head and walked over to her own chair. The bothers were the last people she ever wanted to see. Alphonse was fine but she wanted to stay far away from Ed. After all, he had Winry now.

"You really should try contacting them," Roy said.

"Why? Alphonse is probably studying Alchemy somewhere far away such as Xing and Ed is most likely raising a family with Winry," Aria said with a bite in her voice.

"Actually, the brothers are in Central."

"I don't want to see them."

"You need to. You need a partner. I want to send you on some more important missions but I can't because they're too dangerous," Roy shouted. "Who else would you take along? Would you take along Karlin? She's a seven year old child! She is useless in these situations! I can't afford to lose my best alchemist because of lack of back up when that's a problem so easily prevented."

"I refuse," Aria growled.

"You don't have a choice. You are my dog, and you will listen to me. Do you understand? You will be working with Ed."

Roy stood up, his food unfinished, and walked out of the house. He needed time to calm down. This went better than he had expected. However, now all he had to do was make sure Aria and Ed didn't kill each other when they came face to face.

There you go, the end of this epic beast! I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of it. I don't have any song lyrics for you this chapter but I hope you won't kill me for that. Have a good summer everyone!


	25. Slaps and Notes

Hey my wonderful readers. Thank you to the few that reviewed. I'm thinking that this fic should be ended soon. What do all of you think? I can keep it going if you want, but if you feel that there should be an ending, feel free to tell me.

* * *

Aria glared at Roy from her spot on the black leather sofa on the far wall of the room. Roy sat calmly at his desk, doing paperwork. He had finally gotten Aria into his office to talk to Ed, and he wasn't letting her go so easily. She was going to talk to Full Metal even if it killed her, which he hoped it wouldn't. She was good company and an interesting person to talk to.

"Why do I have to be here? That bastard wronged me. I shouldn't have to be near him," Aria growled.

"Calm yourself. He won't do anything to you here," Roy said. "He just wants to talk to you. He's been trying ever since you moved to Central. I played along with you up until about a month ago. I kept telling him that you were busy or out of the country and I wasn't sure when you'd be back. However last month I finally snapped and told him he would be able to meet with you today."

"I could blow you up right now."

"What did we say about calm?"

Aria's eyes flashed. She wasn't at all happy. She clapped her hands and slammed them onto the carpeted floor. A flicker of fear flashed across Roy's face. In an instant his desk was a bunch of splinters. He had never truly seen the extent of Aria's power, and he was happy that it had never been directed it at him.

"Try something like this again with me and it'll be your head instead of the desk," Aria spat.

"Calm down my doll," Roy soothed. "Such anger doesn't suit a girl like you."

If reasoning with her didn't work, Roy was going to try praising her. It was the last resort he had.

"What did you call me?" Aria whispered in fear.

"I called you my doll." Roy explained. "That's what you are to me. You were Bradley's tool, his prized weapon. Now, you're my doll. My Pinocchio of sorts."

"How?"

"You were created from an empty shell. Life was breathed into you and your breaths came, as naturally to you as they had in your old life. Just like Pinocchio, you were taken away and you endured many hardships and trials. After all that, instead of returning to your father like Pinocchio returns to his, you came to me."

"You make me sound like some prize to be displayed."

"In a way, you are. You're a prodigy, the only alchemist who survived the red water treatments. You should be shown off to the world. After all I like to show off the things I-"

Just as Roy was about to finish his sentence, Ed barged into the room. He stopped, panting, sweat dripping off his forehead. Aria's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't seen Ed in so long, she had somewhat forgotten what he looked like. He had become more handsome than she last remembered. He had also grown as well.

Aria stood up and walked over to Ed. He drew himself up to his full height and faced her. He towered over Aria. She gasped a bit when she saw this. She reached up to his face and slapped him. She slapped him so hard that that sound echoed in the room, down the hall, and out the window. A red mark in the shape of Aria's hand was left on Ed's cheek. He didn't get mad or do anything violent. Instead, he burst out laughing.

"I thought I would have gotten worse, much worse," Ed laughed.

Aria smiled a bit. He was just like Roy. The two of them were to stubborn to even consider the thought but they were like twins. Roy, stubborn and wilful, he always needed to be in charge. Ed, stubborn and rash, he always needed to be in control. Aria suspected that night in the desert when she had gotten lost had been one of the scariest nights of Ed's life. He didn't have control over whether she would live or die. It must've been traumatic to him.

"Well Aria, this isn't too painful was it?" Roy asked.

"I'm not sure. However, I do have things I need to do. It was nice seeing you again Ed," Aria smiled.

She turned and left the room. The smell of her perfume lingering in the room. Ed was shocked. He wasn't totally sure that all of this had happened. The only thing that assured him of it was the throbbing pain in his cheek. When he moved, he heard a gentle rustle in his pocket. Aria had slipped a note in his pocket. She had probably done it when she was slapping him. He couldn't let her slip away from him. He was going to do anything to get her back.

"I gotta go. I promised Al I wouldn't be long," Ed apologized.

Roy nodded and dismissed Ed. Ed nearly sprinted out of the room. He'd have to do something to make it up to Aria but he didn't know what. That was the problem. What he would do for a girl that he'd been waiting for, for years. Then it hit him. He just needed to get to Aria's house before she did. He looked at the paper she had given him and continued his run. The page had her address and phone number on it. It wouldn't be hard to find her.

It took him a half hour of sprinting to get to Aria's house. His jaw dropped when he saw her home. It was a mansion. Ed knew Roy had funded it but he didn't think the man's pockets were that deep. He doubted that Roy's house was anything like this. Remembering he had a mission, Ed ran for the front door, jumping over the gate. He ripped a page out of his personal notebook and pulled out his pen. He quickly scrawled out a note and then stuck it on the door. He quickly ran away from the house so that Aria wouldn't see him. That meeting would go badly. He needed to make it up to her on his own terms.

* * *

Aria walked down the walkway that led to her house. She was about to pull out her key when she saw a note attached to her door. She picked it up and read it.

_You weren't looking for a man when you fell for a boy from the city. _

_Meet me at the Stardust, tonight at seven o'clock. Wear formal clothes. The reservation is in the name Elric. I hope to see you there. _

_Ed_

Aria didn't know how to react. She wasn't sure if she should be mad or if she should be happy. Somehow it was a mix of both emotions. Her mind stewed over the idea of having dinner with Ed. It surprised her that he had chosen the most expensive restaurant in all of Central.

Unlocking the door, Aria walked inside and immediately heard laughter. She walked towards the source of it, which happened to be the dinning room. She was surprised to find Karlin and Al, deep in a game of poker. From what she could see, Karlin was winning by a lot. She smiled at the sight.

"Hello there," Aria called.

The pair turned and looked at her. Karlin jumped up and ran to her big sister. She gave Aria a bear hug. Al waved, not quite willing to tackle hug anyone, especially not a girl that had been declared as his own flesh and blood brother's.

"Sorry to leave so soon but I have to get ready. I have a date tonight," Aria announced.

"Really?" Karlin asked, surprised. "He must really be something."

"Oh, don't worry, he is."

Al had a worried expression on his face. This was not good. Ed was supposed to woo Aria and get the girl and they would all live happily ever after. Somehow though, this was not going according to plan.

* * *

Well, there you all go: a new chapter. Hope you enjoy. Everyone who wanted Ed to get slapped got their wish. Tell me what you think.


	26. Romance of Light and Shadow

Okay so I wake up this morning and I check my Email (the first thing I do every morning) and notice I had a whole ton of reviews. So here I am thinking that some weirdo decided to spam me. Just to be nice I check the reviews on this story and it turns out it's not spam, it's a reviewer reviewing _every single _chapter! I was so surprised. At first my mouth was gaping open as a stared at the screen. Then I burst out laughing. Last chapter I was ready to end the story on this chapter but with reviewers like you, I feel inspired to write again. Now to do some reader shout-outs. I have Ed in here with me to answer questions. Oh yeah, before that, I feel the need to do some self-advertising. I've started a new story in the Bleach fandom (I'll be working on it alongside this story). It's called "Sound of Madness." I plan on making it full of action and cool battle sequences. Check it out if you're into Bleach. Drop me a review, tell me what you think. Okay now on to shout-outs!

* * *

KOF: Shout-out is to LolitaReba! Yeah, we all knew Ed needed to be slapped. He was asking for it.

Ed: HEY! I DID NOT DESERVE IT! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT SHE'D GET UPSET?

KOF: Breathe Ed, just breathe.

* * *

KOF: Next we have Dylexa! Yeah, I know, my chapter was short. *whispers* Just like a certain Elric brother we know…

Ed: HEY! I heard that!

KOF: Oh shut up Ed. I don't think you should talk much. You're basically on everybody's blacklists right now. Looking back now, I see what you mean about the character description. I'm not too happy about it, but I won't take it out because it's still part of the story but thank you for addressing it. Oh! And thank you for the compliment. Very much appreciated!

* * *

KOF: Hello long time reader KuroTenshiAkuma! Yep, Ed got slapped.

Ed: Will you stop reminding people!

KOF: Will you stop shouting! You'll wake Karlin, she's taking a nap right now. You mister, are getting kicked out. *boots Ed out the door* Now, since it's finally quiet, I can get back to what I was doing. I'm glad you like the Ed getting slapped part. It was really fun to write! My friend told me to make Roy really creepy and kinda Pedo after she read a story where he acted like that. She thought it would be fun for a little bit of that to appear in this fic. I get what you mean by it being like Naruto. It's starting to feel like that for me. I remember when I started this story about a year ago, I thought: "Okay, lets make it short and snappy. No more than fifteen chapters and who likes it can review and who doesn't, well screw them." Now, I feel like I'm sometimes updating just because I know everyone's happy with a new update. I'll keep this fic going for a while longer but the newer chapters are going to be more like the first few: snappy and full of action. Oh and the Homunculi will be appearing again!

* * *

KOF: Don't worry Ed'.Kitten, we shall have more stuff happening. This story is gonna get some more action too.

* * *

KOF: Wow, KuramaEnzanBlues, I have to thank you. You put a smile on my face. When I read your reviews I was awestruck and so incredibly grateful that it was just… wow… anyway I'm glad you like this story. I won't be putting lemons in this story but my YYH story that's currently on hold because of this behemoth will for sure. So I hope you read that one as well. I'll send you a PM when I start working on that.

* * *

Aria walked up to the Stardust. She had been there a few times, all of them involved dinners with Roy and other high ranking members of the military. She entered the giant glass doors and stood awkwardly at the front, waiting to be seated. The man who came up to her, a snobbish man from Xing, looked at her as if she was trash.

"You need a reservation," he leered.

"I have one," Aria said, venom dripping from her voice. "It's under Elric."

"Ah yes, you have the private deck. I'm sure your date will be arriving shortly."

_That's just like Ed,_" Aria thought to herself. _He's probably not going to show up."_

Aria walked up the giant spiral staircase, up to a completely empty room. It was open and exposed to the stars. Aria walked over to the balcony and looked at the lights of central. The view was perfect. She could've sat at the balcony all night if given the option, however she knew that Ed had ordered her here to talk, not to have her stare out at the city all night.

When Aria turned around she saw that the waiter who brought her up here had placed two menus on the table and then left. She turned back to the view she was enjoying, wondering what Karlin was doing. She rested her chin on her palm and lost herself in thought.

"The view is nice, isn't it?" Ed asked from behind Aria.

Aria gasped in surprise and wheeled around. "Where did you come from?"

"I came from over there."

Ed pointed at the doorway and Aria glared at him. She wasn't totally happy to be here. Her anger towards Ed still hadn't subsided. She was however surprised to see him in a suit. Ed wore a black pinstriped suit, red silk shirt, black tie and black shoes. Aria was surprised at his clothing choice but it was so Ed that she couldn't see him wearing any other formal clothes besides the ones he was in now.

Aria on the other had worn a black sleeveless dress, black ribbons in her hair and black Mary Jane shoes. Ed thought she was breathtaking. He wished she would dress like this more often.

"Well, shall we sit down?" Aria asked.

Ed nodded and followed her to the table. They sat across from each other, watching, waiting for something to happen. Neither wanted to speak considering that both were too stubborn to. Ed coughed and Aria sighed rather loudly a few times. All together this made for a very awkward atmosphere. Finally Ed spoke up.

"Look, I'm totally aware you hate me," Ed began. "Don't interrupt, let me finish, then I'll let you have your piece. Anyway, I tried moving, I tried living each day knowing you wouldn't be there. I couldn't do it. Do you know how hard it was for me to me when I went looking for the Homunculi knowing that they could've very well caught you and you might be dead? Roy kept telling me you were okay but he's lied to me before so I had no reason to believe him. Life just sucked, so I needed to see you again, even briefly. A glimpse was all I needed, just to know you were doing alright. Now you can talk."

"You're wrong," Aria said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't hate you. I could never hate you. You saved me that night in the desert. When I found out about you and Winry though, I couldn't believe it. My heart shattered. It was just painful. I couldn't live loving someone who would never love me. So, I packed up Karlin and left. We moved here and had a happy life. You were never far from my mind but I moved on. So Edward Elric, you aren't the one I love anymore."

"Who do you love?"

"Nobody."

A silence fell over them. Ed glanced over at Aria a few times, longing evident in his eye. He wasn't expecting a full on confession but he was hoping that he would hear that she still held some feelings. He hadn't been able to give up on her, but it seemed that she had given up on him so easily. Perhaps she had found someone new but wouldn't tell him.

Dinner went by smoothly with Ed ordering a fancy kind of steak while Aria ordered a type of fish that could only be found in the lakes and rivers of Xing. This made it a very sought after restaurant food. She happily dug into it and before she knew it, Aria had eaten all of her food. Ed had finished his long ago and sat calmly watching Aria. She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Care to dance?" Ed asked, getting up.

"Like you'll give me choice," Aria teased.

The pair got up and as if out of nowhere music began to play. They proceeded to waltz around the room, like something out of a fairy tale.

The night would linger on in tireless bliss if you just,  
Whisper sweet nothings to me all night.  
Lying in memories, honey,swept away,  
Lost in thought, I turn over control.  
Caught up in playful dreams, I drift away as  
The truth remains staying cool and dry  
Where will I wander, baby, where will I go  
To ensure I have your love by my side?  
You are near me, but can you hear me  
As far as the clouds above me?  
Yet I will follow you wherever you go  
Count on me, I will be there.  
And if you someday figure out...  
...I love you...  
And if you someday finally realize I'm good for you...  
And even if we have to work out our problems...  
With harsh words...

Just as the music was ending Envy ran into the room. A bit out of breath he stopped and panted for a moment before proceeding to rage.

"Do you know how hard you humans are to find?" Envy shouted. "I've spent the last two hours searching for you. Here I am, thinking I could do it easily. Anyway, I'm here to tell you that the little girl is with us and if you don't come to us tonight, she will be killed."

With that Envy bounded out of the room and Aria blinked a few times. Then she screamed and ran after Envy, Ed following.

* * *

Okay, we have a bit of a lead-up. Something interesting could happen now. I'm very proud of myself, I did a quick update. I hope it's to everyone's liking. What do you think should happen next? If you have a wish, please check out my Bleach fic. *uses puppy dog eyes* Karlin will give you a hug if you do!


	27. Guinea Pig

BOO! Time for some action! I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing this one and I hope it's just as fun to read. Anyway, on to the shout-outs!

* * *

KOF: Hi KuramaEnzanBlues! I'm glad you're enjoying. I considered adding lemons but then I decided not to because I didn't think they'd add anything to the story.

* * *

KOF: Don't worry Alex Spotlight. Envy will get what's coming to him.

* * *

KOF: I'm glad you liked what I put Sakura2112. I like adding something a little funny when it's about to get serious.

* * *

KOF: Hahaha you always leave me such long reviews KuroTenshiAkuma. Well the homunculi are evil, smexy, and badass (Envy and Greed anyway. I can't say the same about gluttony XP). I'll try a Death Note fic eventually. I'll drop you a message when I do. I'm glad you liked the dance, and there will be more kissing don't worry.

* * *

Aria ran down the stairs, practically flying over them. She needed to get to Karlin ASAP or else something horrible could happen to her little sister.

_What did we do this time? _Aria thought to herself. _Oh yeah, we don't have to do anything, the homunculi hate us so they don't need a reason to kill us. _

Ed could barely keep up with the female alchemist. She was lean and swift. Obviously she kept her body in good shape. He wondered if Roy kept her doing missions or if she was off to do her own thing. He suspected it was a bit of both. Suddenly, without warning Aria stopped. She appeared to be sniffing the air. For a moment he was tempted to ask what she was doing but then he remembered that she had an enhanced sense of smell.

"They're this way," Aria announced. "Follow me."

Ed did as he was commanded. He knew better than to further anger an already pissed off woman. Even though he thought it would be better to come up with a plan, that didn't really seem to be Aria's style. She was more into running headfirst into a situation and then dealing with tact afterwards.

It didn't take long for the pair to find the homunculi's hideout. They left some obvious clues. In the middle of an alley was one of Karlin's shoes. A little bit further and there were Karlin's hair ribbons. Aria almost cried when she found each object but continued on, knowing that her little sister's life depended on it.

"Okay, so through that manhole is Karlin," Aria deduced. "All we gotta do is break in, kick everyone's asses and rescue Karlin. That should be easy enough."

"Are you serious?" Ed gaped. "Where in that plan does the word "easy" jump out at you?"

"You've been gone for two years now of course you wouldn't know but Karlin and I have been dealing with these idiots on and off on an almost weekly basis. This shouldn't take long. You can stay out here if you want."

"Where you go, I go. I lost you once… I'm not losing you again."

"Whatever, let's go."

Aria, being the lady she was, pushed Ed down the hole first. He didn't have time to protest before he was plunged into darkness. A very foul smelling darkness where he landed on his back. Aria landed next to him with much more grace.

"Get off your ass," Aria commanded. "We have a girl to save."

The two of them bounded off. Ed followed Aria at her heels, trying not to lose sight of her in the dim sewer. He was amazed at how easily she took this in stride. Every other girl- Winry included- would be screaming, horrified at the very thought of running through a sewer, especially if they were in their nice formal dresses. Aria however, jumped into the sewer and began her search for Karlin. Family came first with these sisters.

Ed was about to ask Aria if she would consider going on an actual date with him. He didn't get a chance though because they made it to the homunculi's center of operations where they saw Karlin and Al shacked to the wall, several feet off the ground. Ed was about to run over to Al and transmute him out of his bindings when Aria held him back.

"Welcome," Lust greeted. "We are so glad you came."

Aria turned her head, the look in her eyes made Lust wince. It was a look that was both wild and animalistic and still perfectly calm and human. She didn't know what to think of it. Before she said anything else, she snapped her fingers and Envy appeared from the darkness with a set of keys. He unlocked Al and let the younger Elric go free.

"We didn't need the boy but we thought he'd be useful in case the girl didn't come," Envy explained.

"Al!" Ed exclaimed.

"Brother," Al called, running up to Ed.

"What do you want with Karlin?" Aria demanded.

"All in good time," Lust teased. "We will happily release her, for a price."

"Name it."

"So impatient you are. Never, in all our lives have we met a pair as unique as you. Both of you living with only half a soul. How hard that must be, looking into your sister's eyes and knowing she has what is rightfully yours. However, you can change that. We can let you have the half of your soul that Karlin has."

Aria didn't even consider the offer. She knew what the process would entail. Many people had tried to tempt her with it before. Karlin would die, and Aria would be a whole person again. Humanity wasn't worth the price of her sister's life.

"How lucky you are," Lust sneered. "Both of you, perfectly immortal, never aging, never dying. You're almost like homunculi, but the only difference is that you don't need the Stone to survive. Well if you won't take your sister's life, we'll take yours. After all, somebody is getting a whole soul today."

"Why do you care?" Aria demanded.

"Because," Envy drawled. "We plan on conducting some completely invasive tests. If nothing can kill the two of you now, we wonder what will happen when give one of you a whole soul. Will you still be the same?"

"Over my dead body!"

Aria wasted no more time. She clapped her hand and slammed them onto the ground. When nothing happened at first, everybody besides Aria thought it was a fluke, that she couldn't perform alchemy. That was until the ground below Envy exploded. The palm tree homunculus growled and charged at Aria.

Ed took that moment to jump in, transmuting his automail blade. Aria looked back at him gratefully before running off. She could sense the weakest homunculus, Gluttony. She clapped and slammed her hands on the ground again, exploding gluttony and the stone inside of him. Lust looked at Aria in shock. She had just done away with the fat homunculus effortlessly. She didn't know who this girl was. Cold and calculating were not what she would describe Aria with. She let her emotions take over and control her, rather that make rational decisions.

"I'm not like I was before am I?" Aria laughed. "Give me my sister back and I won't kill everyone in this room."

Lust had heard rumours of what Aria had been like when she was under Bradley. They said she had cold eyes and such a glare that it stopped troops in their tracks. Lust suspected that this Aria that she was facing now was a shadow of the former Aria but that didn't mean she wasn't dangerous. She and Envy were the last two living homunculi and she didn't want to die just yet.

"Fine, take the keys," Lust said shakily.

"Thank you," Aria sneered.

The keys had been thrown at Aria and they landed at her feet. She bent down, picked them up, and then ran over to Karlin to unlock her. In the dim light she couldn't see what shape Karlin was in. Aria prayed that she was in good shape. Gingerly, she picked up the little girl who turned out to be unconscious, and carried her out of the sewer. Ed and Al were following closely behind.

It took twice as long to get out of the sewer because Karlin could have been seriously hurt by something down there and Aria didn't want to risk and unnecessary injury.

"How's she doing?" Ed finally asked when they were outside.

"I can't tell," Aria replied. "She's unconscious."

The group moved a little further out of the alley, closer to light. When she could finally see Karlin properly, Aria gasped and nearly dropped the little girl. Karlin was covered in cuts and bruises. There was a particularly nasty one just below her right eye that was bleeding and oozing some kind of brown substance.

Tears formed in Aria's eyes and began to stream down her cheeks. Some of the teardrops landed on Karlin's cheeks. The little girl's clothes were ripped and dirty and she was unmoving. Aria could feel her heartbeat becoming weaker and weaker, almost as if Karlin was dying.

"Okay," Aria began. "We have to get her to a hospital, and NOW!"

Ed and Al nodded. Al hadn't been injured in any way. He was just dirty but otherwise unharmed. Before they could step out of the alley fully, Roy's car screeched to a halt. The Furor, in the driver's seat was practically livid.

"Where have you lot been?" Roy demanded.

He was about to go on a tirade but stopped short when he saw Karlin. He couldn't believe the state she was in. He didn't need to ask questions, he knew that the homunculi had a hand in this one. It was always them, ruining everyone's lives. Roy wondered when it would finally end.

"Get in," Roy finally said. "We'll get to the hospital in about two minutes if we hurry."

Aria nodded and piled herself and Karlin into the back. Ed and Al stayed behind. They would stay behind and make sure the homunculi didn't try anything else. Ed waved and turned away while Al stared, hoping for all the life of him that Karlin would be okay. She had always been able to put a smile on everyone's faces, he didn't want to lose that. He knew Ed didn't either.

"Do I even need to ask?" Roy sighed. "What did they do this time?"

"They kidnapped her and they wanted to conduct experiments on one of us," Aria explained. "They planned on taking the half of either my or her soul and putting it into one of us so that we would have a whole soul. They wanted to know if that would make us human. Karlin was going to be a guinea pig!"

At that moment Aria broke and the tears began to fall. Roy didn't know what to do. He had never seen the young colonel cry before. The sobs were choking Aria, she gasped for air between each one. She couldn't handle the idea of not having Karlin. When they first met, Aria couldn't handle the idea of having to take care of another person. Now she wouldn't trade this love for the world.

"Roy?" Aria whispered.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Tell me everything will be okay."

"Everything will be okay."

"Thank you."

Just as he promised, they got to the hospital in about two minutes. Roy opened the back door and gently pulled Karlin out. Aria followed behind. They walked in silence, both worrying about the little girl whose life hung on a very delicate thread. Aria gripped Karlin's hand, holding it as if it was her only lifeline. Roy looked down at the sisters sadly. He knew that what ever happened to them now would be a hard blow.

"Wait here," Roy instructed Aria. "I'll get Karlin settled in and I'll come get you."

Aria nodded, watching Roy walk away. She didn't know what would happen next but she hoped everything would be okay.

* * *

Well, how's that for a chapter? I know you're all going to hate me for what happened to Karlin. I don't know if she'll live or not, I haven't planned out the next chapter yet. I'll get to writing it right away! Tell me what you thought of this chapter.


	28. The Crickets have Arthiritis

Hello all! I've been on vacation and I didn't have my laptop. So I'm a bit behind in all my stories. Sorry about that! Anyway, I hope this chapter is worth the wait. It's a dramatic, very sad one. My friend cried when she read it so I hope I get a similar effect on you people. If I do, I know that I'll have achieved what I wanted to achieve with this chapter. I'm not going to do shout-outs for this chapter because that means it'll take longer to write and you'll be waiting longer. I'm hoping you all enjoy what you're reading. I'll see you for my little author's afterward at the end of the chapter. Oh and this chapter is dedicated to Vegas. You are the girl who I'll never forget and I'll always love. You were after all my first friend.

* * *

Aria had been in Karlin's room, not sleeping for the past three days. She thought it was three days. It was hard to tell though because they hours had just blurred by. It was more a flash of moments that stuck out and then nothing. Sometimes it felt like a dream but when Aria turned her head and saw her sister, she knew it wasn't a dream.

Actually, Aria could barely see Karlin. She was covered in wires and tubes. All were keeping her alive, Aria knew that but she didn't care. She just wanted to rip them away and take Karlin from here. The little girl didn't belong here. She belonged in the sunshine, where there was clean air and flowers to play in.

"How are you holding up?" Roy asked.

Aria turned around and gave him a weak smile. She yawned but the smile remained.

"I'm doing well," Aria replied. "Just tired, but otherwise fine. How are you Roy?"

"Tired, like you," Roy said grimly. "How's she doing?"

"No changes."

The words hung in the air, practically visible considering how heavy they were. Roy walked over to Aria and sat down in the other chair. He put a hand on her shoulder but looked away. It was as if that action made it too hard for him to look at her.

"Oh, guess what?" Roy said finally.

"What?" Aria asked.

"Riza's coming back."

Eva couldn't help but laugh a bit. Roy was beaming, practically glowing at that statement. His old flame was coming back, and she was sure that they would get married this time. Aria was going to make it happen even if she had to force them to elope and be married by a five minute priest. It was going to happen though.

"Back to serious matters," Roy began a bit awkwardly. "I know you don't like hearing updates on Karlin's state. Don't lie to me and tell me you'd rather know than be in the dark. Everyone would rather be in the dark. You know that better than anyone. Anyway the doctors say that they're not sure Karlin will ever recover. Even if her body recovers, there's a high chance she will be brain dead."

"No," Aria whispered. "No! No, no, no! NO!"

Aria was screaming at that point. A nurse poked her head into the room to make sure everything was okay before leaving. Aria's body was shaking because of her sobs and her anger. She was angry that nothing the doctors could do. All the times she had been declared incurable, some doctor always came up with a miracle cure and made everything better. Aria wanted that for Karlin more than anything. She would give her own life ten times over just to give Karlin a little more life, a chance to get better.

"Roy, I'd like to be alone," Aria whispered.

Roy nodded and got up to leave. He would need to contact Ed so that he could get here. Not today but maybe tomorrow. Aria needed time alone to let it sink in that she might never get her sister back. That seemed to be how Aria dealt with things the best: alone time.

"Hey chickadee," Aria said when she was sure Roy had left. "I don't know if you can hear me but… oh who am I kidding, of course you can hear me. Well anyway, I'm sure you heard everything Roy said. I don't want you to worry or be scared though. I'm gonna make sure you get better, no matter what. I'll do it even if I need to give you what's left of my soul to make yours whole. I don't know what the homunculi did to you and I'm not sure I want to know, but when you get out of this damned hospital, we're gonna get through all the trauma together."

Aria smiled as she said that last bit. She was going to live her life, yes, but she would do it with Karlin at her side. They were each other's better halves. Quite literally considering each girl had half of a whole soul inside her. If nothing else, Aria just wanted Karlin on earth, brain dead or not. No matter how selfish her wish was, she was only human after all, no matter what the homunculi tried to tell her.

Aria placed a hand on Karlin's cheek. She felt the little girl's warmth through her palm. It was a small comfort knowing her sister was alive. Sure, the machines beeped and whirred. Sure, maybe the heartbeat monitor was still creating the hills and valleys pattern showing there was still life. All those technologies that proved a person was still alive didn't even compare to the soft warmth of a little girl's body heat. Nothing came close.

"Aria?" Roy whispered. "I know this isn't a good time but the doctor wants to see you."

Aria got up and walked over to where Roy was standing. She looked over at Karlin once more and gave a watery smile. She whispered something. Roy couldn't hear what she said but he was totally aware that it was something important. Only now, when the bond between the two sisters was being tested every second of every day, did somebody see that life is too fragile to waste.

"What does he want?" Aria asked, turning back to Roy.

"He wants to discuss Karlin," Roy replied.

The pair walked out of the room and then walked the short distance to the doctor. The hall, like the rest of the hospital smelled sterile. It used to bother Aria, now she was used to it. Hell, she spent too much time in hospitals. Most of her life was hospital trip after hospital trip.

"Welcome Miss Davies," the doctor said grimly.

"Hello," Aria said.

Aria looked at the doctor. He looked weary. His name was Dr. Baker or or something like that. His hair showed the first signs of grey. Obviously he had spent a lot of time in hospitals too. Aria could relate to the weary feeling that he had.

"Your sister… how do I say this," the doctor said. "She will wake up. We know that she will, but we don't know when. There's a slight problem though, she's sick. We think she has cancer."

Aria wasn't sure if she should be happy or shell shocked. Karlin was going to wake up. She would she her baby sister's eyes open once again. She would see those blue eyes light up with a smile because the first thing Aria would do is give her a piece of candy. Aria would bring Karlin as many bowls of ice cream, candy, books, and toys as she could ask for and then some. Aria wouldn't let Karlin suffer. She would make sure Karlin would forget she was sick, even if it was just for a moment.

"I'd like to be back with my sister now," Aria said. "I'll be going now."

Walking back to Karlin's hospital room, Aria didn't enter at first. She leaned against the door frame for a moment, watching the little girl's silent suffering and wishing that she could take ever second of life Karlin was losing and replace it with her own life.

Aria moved back to her chair and leaned back. She looked at the chocolate bar that she had bought earlier. She would make sure that Karlin's first taste of food would be something sweet. It would be the perfect mix of chocolate and caramel. Karlin would be happy and her eyes would light up like when she tried bubblegum ice cream for the first time with Aria in that old ice cream parlour.

"The truth is: there aren't enough miracles to go around," Aria sighs. "There's too many people petitioning God for the winning lotto ticket. And for every answered prayer, there's a cricket with arthritis. And the only reason we can't find answers is because the search party didn't invite us, and Karlin, right now the crickets have arthritis. So there is no music, no symphony of nature swelling to crescendos, as if ripping halos into melodies that can keep a rhythm with the way our hearts beat.

"People drop pennies down a wishing well, so the cost of a desire is equal to that of a thought. But if you've got expectations, expect others have bought your exact same dream for the price of a 'hard work, hang in, hold on' mentality. Like, I accept any challenge so challenge me. Karlin, you and I cracked this world wide open and found that the prize inside is we never lied to ourselves. Never told ourselves that we'd be easy or undemanding. So we sing in our own vibration, and dare angels to eavesdrop and stop midflight to pluck feathers from their wings and write demands that God's hands take the time to catch you. So, even if God doesn't, it wasn't because we didn't try.

"You can wake up whenever you want. I just want you to know that whatever happens, I'm here for you."

* * *

Days passed and nights came. Aria began to stop counting the days. She only counted the beeps of the heartbeat monitor. Roy and Ed came in regularly. They tried to make her smile. They tried to get her to speak. Except, Aria hadn't spoken a word in the past month and a half. She hadn't said anything since she said her monologue to Karlin. She sat in silent protest. She made a promise to herself that until Karlin spoke, she wouldn't speak.

"Aria you need to eat more," Ed said desperately.

Ed was watching the girl he was in love with fade away. She only took showers when Roy forced him and only ate when Ed held the spoon or fork to her lips. Except, when she did eat it was only a few spoonfuls and then she looked away. Most of the time she stared out the window as if she was staring at other worlds, places that only she could see. Sometimes Ed wondered if Aria was only on this world in body but was Karlin right now. Every time he thought that, he shook his head and laughed to himself a bit. He knew that there were no other worlds. There was no heaven. There was just the gate.

"I'll be back later with dinner, Aria," Ed whispered. "I'll bring Al too."

Aria didn't respond. Ed expected that. It was as if she had become a patient in this hospital too. He wondered if Karlin was parting with her soul right now. Maybe, Aria was parting with her soul right now, giving it to Karlin. He knew that Aria felt it rightfully belonged to the little girl lying in the hospital bed.

"You're up," Ed whispered to Roy on his way out. "Try and get her to talk."

"Aria, oh Aria," Roy sang, waltzing into the room. "Why must you hurt yourself so much?"

Sitting down next to Aria, Roy took her left hand and he covered it with both his hands. It was just like the times when Aria was still under Bradley and she was in the hospital at least once per month for some serious injury. He'd sit there and tell her stories while he held her left hand. It had been like that when she was ten and it was like that now when she was seventeen.

"I don't know if there's a God," Roy began, "But I know there's truth. I know that there's a place that we go when we die. Every breath we take is something that's borrowed and it eventually has to be given back. You gotta hold onto each breath as long as you can and then let it go. You gotta let it go like a laugh during really good sex. It'll be worth the black eye you get after. What's life worth if you don't have a story to tell? So Aria, come back and start borrowing breaths again."

Roy looked at Aria with a sad smile. He wanted to tell her everything that had been happening lately. He wanted to tell her that Riza had come back that he was dating her now. He wanted to tell her that his old team had come back and the Havoc was engaged. He wanted to tell her the Armstrong was going on vacation for two months because of a sick relative. He wanted to tell her so many things but he didn't know if she would hear him. So he just said one thing, "Aria, wherever you are, I want you to know, its time to come back…"

* * *

Okay, wow, that was hard to write. While I was writing this I couldn't help but get really sad. I was listening to _The Crickets have Arthritis _by Shane Koyczan. The monologue that Aria has is from that poem. It's a slam poem and he's one of my favourite poets. It's an amazing poem and you all have to listen to it. It'll make you cry and it'll make you think about things that you've never considered before. I hope that you all enjoyed what you read and that it was worth the wait. I can't wait to know what you think.


	29. Author's Note don't worry, no haitus

Hello readers! It's been a while hasn't it? I am so sorry for my lack of activity, but I am still alive and well. I also have some great ideas for this story. I would have updated much sooner but I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to write this fic, however, I am back and I have some great ideas! Anyway, are any of my original readers still around? Or am I going to be catering to all new people? So, until I post the next chapter, here's a little preview of some upcoming scenes (each from a different chapter). I haven't gotten anything written but I am working on it and there should hopefully be something up tomorrow. Anyway, here are your previews!

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Ed: Aria, listen to me! I don't care what the homunculi do to me, but I need you to live. I love you more than you will ever know. It hurts how much I love you. I want you to go travelling, fall in love with an amazing man, and have lots of babies. I want you to experience all the human things you don't think you have a right to. Go and live. Do it for me.

Aria: Ed…

Ed: Please, Aria, I love you, go and be free.

* * *

The sun shone through the dirty hospital window. Aria squinted, as if opening her eyes for the first time after having them closed for her entire life. As her eyes began to adjust to the light, she noticed all the people around her bed. The closest one to her was Ed. He looked like he was on the verge of crying but the rest of the people around her didn't look much better. Offering a weak smile, she opened her mouth.

"Why are you all crying? You should smile, look at the gorgeous sunshine," Aria rasped

Realization hit her like a bullet. The reason everyone was so mournful was because of her. She was the cause of everyone's sadness.

* * *

There you go my wonderful readers! Two little previews to keep you busy thinking about what will happen next. I'm gonna write like a maniac now and try to get the next chapter up by tomorrow!


	30. The Awakening

Hello wonderful readers! I am officially back with an actual chapter! I know I promised one several months ago but I wound up in the hospital for several months and it was rather touch and go for a while but I'm okay now! I have come with a chapter too. If any of you have been following me for the last week or so, you'll know that I started a new fic. I was planning to post that fic before I ended up hospitalized but alas I couldn't. I hadn't finished this chapter and that's why it's rather delayed. I also wanted to make it as perfect as possible for all of you!

I went and re-read all the reviews you guys have left me from the beginning to the end of the fic and let me tell you, I was bawling my eyes at the end. You are the most amazing readers ever and I promise you that there won't be any more disappearances! I don't know how to make it up to all of you but I guess I'll start by putting in some shout-outs…

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**Kin no Ryu**: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I'm glad to hear your cousin is doing better now. I laughed when I read the part about 12 football players suffering with a single toy truck. I hate trying to pry things out of packages. It's an outright mess. I'm back now though and now you can enjoy some more Aria and Karlin!

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**DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympians: **Gotta say I love the Rainbow Dash icon. She's so funny, I love her! Here's your update btw! I finally got it done!

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**Ed' .Kitten: **I haven't given up! Here's a chapter to prove it!

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**The Suburban Coyote:** Thank you! I re-read the scene you were talking about and I realized just how awkward it seemed. Goodness… I really hope my writing has gotten better… I promise to never discontinue!

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**Taeniaea**: Thanks!

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**Loki The Evil Goddess**: Don't worry! I'm back! I don't wanna reveal if anyone is gonna turn evil or die, but I don't think you have all that much to worry about.

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Alright guys, that's it for me. See you at the end of the Chapter!

~ KOF

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The sun shone through the dirty hospital window. Aria squinted, as if opening her eyes for the first time after having them closed for her entire life. As her eyes began to adjust to the light, she noticed all the people around her bed. The closest one to her was Ed. He looked like he was on the verge of crying but the rest of the people around her didn't look much better. Offering a weak smile, she opened her mouth.

"Why are you all crying? You should smile, look at the gorgeous sunshine," Aria rasped

Realization hit her like a bullet. The reason everyone was so mournful was because of her. She was the cause of everyone's sadness.

"Aria!" Roy exclaimed.

The man had been leaning against the wall across from Aria's bed with his head down and tears streaming down his face. When he heard Aria's weak voice for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime, he ran up to her and embraced her. She was alive. Aria Davies, his tiny colonel, was truly and really living.

Roy's tears fell and soaked the bed sheets. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing and he didn't let Aria go until he heard a wheezy breath coming from her.

"You're choking me Roy," Aria breathed.

Roy let go of the girl and just before he stepped away he pressed his forehead against hers. He just had to make sure it was truly here.

When Roy left Aria, Ed took his place. He grabbed on to Aria and held as if his life depended on it, almost as if letting her go would me there would be no more Aria.

"Ed," Aria whispered. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

Ed pulled away and held Aria an arm's length away, examining her, just to make sure this moment was real. He was half tempted to ask someone to pinch him. He didn't want to get too excited.

When he had determined that this was in fact Aria, Ed pulled her over and kissed her full on the lips. Everyone in the room collectively gasped. Aria wasn't sure what to do so she just blinked several times before closing her eyes and returning the kiss.

When the two broke apart, Aria promptly fainted.

* * *

After a few moments Aria regained consciousness and she slowly opened her eyes. The memory of what had caused her to faint was starting to make her woozy again. Shaking her head, Aria looked over at the obnoxious machine beeping next to her.

"Can someone please shut this thing up?" Aria demanded.

"I think that can be arranged," a voice chuckled.

A man in a white lab coat appeared in front of Aria with a smile on his face, his electric blue eyes twinkling. He walked over to the machine and pressed one of the buttons on the back and there was one last beep before that room was silent again.

"I'm Dr. Andrews," the doctor announced. "I'll be keeping an eye on you for a bit. I suggest you get some proper sleep now."

Aria nodded and smiled back at the doctor. When he was gone, the girl collapsed against her pillows, obviously not used to sitting up or being awake. She looked up at everyone and smiled, wiping the worried looks off everyone's faces. It was good to be awake again.

"So," Aria began. "Who's gonna tell me what happened."

"Well, you see-" Roy began but was cut off.

"Let me tell it," Ed requested. "You've been here nearly three months in a coma. The doctors aren't sure what caused it but they suspect it was due to the stress of Karlin's condition. Your body needed to recover."

Aria gasped. "Oh my goodness! I'm a horrible sister! How's Karlin? Where is she?"

Roy dashed out of the room and returned moments later with a little girl in a wheelchair.

"Hi sissy!" Karlin greeted sweetly.

The little girl wheeled herself over to Aria and made sure to roll over Ed's foot on purpose.

"Why you…" Ed growled.

"That's what you get for not letting me see my sister!" Karlin huffed.

"They wouldn't let you come visit?" Aria asked darkly.

She gave everyone in the room, minus Karlin, a dark glare. They all whimpered and took several steps back, scared that they might find themselves in hospital beds as well.

"Guess what?" Karlin exclaimed.

"What?" Aria asked.

"I can do alchemy now!"

"You can?" the rest of the room gasped.

"Good, I'm glad," Aria smiled. "After all, you wouldn't be my sister if you weren't able to."

Lifting up an arm, Aria shakily put a hand on top of Karlin's head. It was an effort to move, but Aria wanted to make sure Karlin was truly there with her at the moment.

"I think I need sleep," Aria announced.

Everyone nodded and left the room so that Aria could sleep. Al wheeled Karlin out of the room and the last sound Aria remembered was the sound of Karlin's laughter as she giggled at something Al had told her.

* * *

Several days passed before Aria was finally able to get out of bed on her own. She spent a large portion of her days eating to get her strength back up but she was rapidly recovering. Roy asked her if it was the red water in her blood causing it but Aria just shrugged whenever she was asked that question. She honestly didn't know but it was a possibility. More information would have to be gathered at a later date.

Two things Aria hadn't addressed yet were the kiss Ed had given her or the reason Karlin was in a wheelchair. The Edward issue wasn't resolved because she had barely seen him. As for Karlin, Aria was a little scared. She didn't want to ask in case the wheelchair was a permanent thing. Not that a wheelchair was an issue or that it would make Aria love Karlin any less, she just hoped that her little sister would be able to run and play again like a normal girl.

Aria had been contemplating her two problems for the past hour or so and she was so deep in thought that she didn't realize somebody had entered the room. Looking up, Aria gasped, clutching her chest. Ed was in her room and it was a total shock to Aria.

"Ed…" Aria whispered.

"Hey," Ed grinned.

"I wanted to talk to you about something…"

"The kiss?" Ed asked. "Forget about it, it meant nothing, spur of the moment."

Aria could feel tears starting to form in her eyes but she blinked them away. "I see… so why are you here?"

"I wanted to give you this before I headed off on a mission."

Ed dropped a book on Aria's bed. He gave her another grin and ruffled her hair before heading off with a wave. The second he was out of the room, Aria lost her composure, silent tears spilling out. She couldn't believe it, the man she loved had kissed her and it meant nothing to him. Oh gods, how this hurt.

On the other side of the wall, Ed was beating his head against it. How could he be so stupid? That kiss was anything but spur of the moment. He had been planning to do that ever since Aria had fallen into the coma.

"It's for the best," Ed grunted. "She couldn't love a fool like me anyway."

Roy had overheard everything and let out a quiet sigh.

"But she does love you, you idiot," Roy whispered, almost silently.

He watched the boy walk away for a moment before entering Aria's room. He had tons to tell her.

* * *

Okay, I know, I'm pure evil… I left you with a cliffhanger… I'm sorry about that, but it was the only way I could think of to end it. I'm horrible I know. I've been re-reading my fic and I've decided that I will go back and edit all the disgusting errors that I've made!

Now for some shameless advertising:

Do YOU love Pokémon? Do YOU want an awesome story with good, fleshed out characters? Do you? Do you? Well if you do, I know the story for you! Go on and read my newest fic _Falling in Reverse_. You won't regret it!


	31. To Make a Stone

Hello everyone! I'm back again with another glorious chapter! I had some trouble writing this because I wasn't sure what to write but I finished it and I hope you guys enjoy it! There's a surprise appearance by somebody we all love to hate (or love in some cases) but it's not Edward.

I know that this is a bit sudden especially since I've just returned after such a long absence, but I think we're approaching the last few chapters of the story. I'm not sure, but I could totally change my mind. I have a set of notes I wrote at the very beginning and I've been following them fairly religiously. I might decide to keep going, depending on the response but I don't want to overdo things. I know this story is special to so many people and I want it to stay special. I don't want to ruin it because I got selfish and decided that I was a review hungry crazy person and then have the quality suffer. Anyway, on that note, shout-out time!

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**Simplicity-Shitsuboku**: Thank you for looking at the other story ^.^

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**Unnoticed31**: I'm glad you like the story! I am trying really hard to make this story as good as it can be. I really hope you keep reading!

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**Ed' .Kitten**: Don't worry, I won't get sick again. I'm all better now! I promise you that I am! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**velli9**: I have another chapter for you! Here you go! I hope you enjoy it!

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"I can see that you're alive and well," Roy grinned.

"As alive and well as I can be," Aria winced.

"Well look at what I've got here," Roy teased.

Between his forefinger and thumb, Roy was holding a vial of red liquid. It appeared to be semi-liquid and semi-solid. Aria recognized it in a second. It was a vial of pure red water, the rarest substance on Earth. Approximately one litre of the liquid coursed through her veins at any given time. It gave Aria her strength and it let her live. Without it she couldn't live.

"Where did you get that?" Aria demanded. "There are no sources of it in Central and I'm the last living person who knows the location of the only actual source."

"You underestimate me," Roy smirked. "You'd think that as Furor I would get at least some kind of credit. Honestly, who do you think I am?"

Aria burst out laughing and Roy joined her. Their laughter echoed into the empty hallway outside of the hospital room. A few nurses in nearby rooms lifted their heads but quickly went back to their work. Aria and Roy kept laughing until Aria broke down in a coughing fit that wracked her entire body.

"I can see that you need this more than I originally thought," Roy observed.

Aria looked up at him with a desperate look in her eyes. She watched as Roy carefully transferred every drop of the red liquid to a syringe. He flicked the syringed a few times before stretching out Aria's arm.

"I don't think you're licenced to be doing that," Aria teased.

Roy looked at her and winked before inserting the needle into the girl's arm. When he was done Aria gave him a grateful look and she closed her eyes as she lay down on the bed. She was suddenly feeling very sleepy and she wanted some peace so that she could get to sleep.

Roy was about to leave the hospital room when he decided to wait a moment so that he could take a proper look at Aria. She was gaunt and her skin seemed almost transparent. He hadn't noticed this before and he wondered if this was caused by too much old red water in her system. He would look into it and make sure she got at least one shot every six months otherwise they might end up in a situation like this again.

* * *

A week had passed since Roy had administered the red water to Aria and she was completely back to her normal, hyperactive self. She was having wheelchair races with Karlin constantly, much to the nurses' chagrin. Everything was slowly returning to normal.

"Whee!" Karlin squealed. "I love the hospital!"

Aria and Karlin couldn't hold onto their laughter as they raced down the hallway towards Karlin's physiotherapy appointment. Something the homunculi had done to her had caused her to lose the ability to walk and the doctors were determined to have everything back to normal again. It was a long process but for the past month and a bit Karlin had been working as hard as she could to regain her ability to walk.

"Look at this, Sissy," Karlin exclaimed. "I can walk three steps without any help!"

Aria clapped and whistled, proud of this tiny accomplishment. Karlin's blood, sweat, and tears had given her the ability to walk just three steps and that was something to be proud of. The doctor had told Aria that the recovery process would probably appear to not be making any progress but in fact the whole process was made up of small bits, like a puzzle.

"I'll come get you in two hours, baby," Aria smiled.

Karlin nodded and sat back down in her wheelchair. Aria leaned over and kissed her forehead before wheeling away. The sisters waved at each other until Karlin entered the physiotherapy room and out of Aria's sight.

"I hope everything goes well this time," Aria sighed.

Every time Karlin came out of physiotherapy she was sick for several hours and she always complained because of the pain. Her little body could barely handle it but she knew that without this torture she would never be able to do normal things again.

"Ah! Miss Davies! I've been looking for you!" a doctor exclaimed.

"Yes?" Aria asked, slightly concerned.

The doctor laughed nervously. "It's nothing bad! Don't worry!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah! You see, you're free to go home! You can go whenever you want."

Aria grinned, "Oh that's wonderful! What about Karlin?"

The doctor looked sheepish. "Umm… I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you."

"She's my sister and if you don't tell me, I will blow up this whole god forsaken hospital."

"Well… it's just… she's going to be here for a while longer. At least until she makes some more progress with the therapy. She's progressing much faster than anyone had expected."

"That's it?"

"Ha ha yeah, I guess it is. It's not so bad, I guess."

"No, it's not. You had me really worried. Come, walk with me."

Aria walked down the hallway laughing and chatting with the doctor. He was surprisingly young and not much older than herself. He had gotten into medical school early and graduated faster than anyone in the history of the school.

Roy had been shamelessly flirting with one of the nurses when he heard Aria giggling and immediately prepared himself to congratulate Ed for fixing things between them when he saw his new mortal enemy. He decided that this doctor needed to die or at least be fired. Nobody except for Ed was allowed near his Aria or else face the wrath of the Furor.

"Wrath of the Furor, huh?" Aria teased.

"Wha-wha-wha?"

"I heard every detail of the creepy conversation you had with yourself. Since when am I _your _Aria, eh?"

Roy couldn't string a sentence together while Aria wheeled herself away, cackling maniacally. She loved torturing Roy and she would need to do it more often. Right now she was on the way to her room so that she could take a short nap before going to get Karlin from her physiotherapy.

Aria smiled when she entered the dark hospital room. There was nobody to bother her and she could rest in peace for a bit. She didn't notice the figure that was sitting on her window, watching her as she got into bed.

The figure moved off the window and silently padded over to Aria's bed, leaning over and making sure it was truly her. She was just about to fall asleep when she was shaken awake by the figure. Aria's eyes shot open when an overpowering smell assaulted her nose.

"Envy!" Aria growled.

Envy slapped a hand over Aria's mouth to shut her up which angered her even more. Aria contemplated licking the hand over her mouth but she didn't know where it had been and she'd rather not pick up some strange disease because of it.

"I make a pretty good doctor, don't ya think?" Envy sneered.

He transformed into the young doctor that Aria had been talking with and then changed back while still holding his hand over Aria's mouth.

"I'm going to take my hand off your mouth now," Envy announced. "If you so much as make a peep, I won't hesitate to slit your throat so stay quiet."

Once Aria had full control of her mouth again she began hissing every curse she knew and then turned on Envy.

"I thought I smelled you," Aria growled. "I will always be able to recognize the smell of your kind. After all you crawl around sewers all day."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear you," Envy snarled. "After all, we don't want to spoil this lovely visit. I don't get to visit friends very often."

"You and I will never be friends, Envy."

"That hurts, pipsqueak, it really hurts. And here I thought I could redeem myself in your eyes, especially with the information I've come to give you."

Aria gave him a cold glare and let out a low growl. "Like I would trust any of your kind. You almost killed my sister."

Envy howled with laughter. He was laughing so hard that he had to hold his stomach because it was starting to hurt. He couldn't stop laughing for several minutes and Aria was getting impatient. She wanted Envy out of her room so that she could take her nap but obviously that wasn't going to happen.

"That's rich," Envy laughed. "Your sister? Really? Come on, face it, that thing isn't human let alone your sister. I mean you yourself aren't human, you're just like me."

"I am nothing like you!" Aria roared.

"Now what did I say about you making a peep?"

"Hmph."

"That's better… now I'm risking my own skin for you right now so you better be grateful. The homunculi are planning something with Father right now, but I'm not sure what it is. None of us really know, father has been keeping almost everything really hush hush at the moment. What I do know is that Father plans on sacrificing us to make a Philosopher's Stone."

"And you're telling me this because?"

"Cause I like living, okay," Envy admitted. "I need you and your group to swoop in and save the day like you guys always do. It's what you all do best it seems."

"Why would I help you?" Aria demanded. "After everything your kind, including you, have done to me, I don't have a reason to even consider helping you out."

"If you don't help me, all humans will die, including that thing you call your sister. So ponder my words carefully. Tell me when you come to a decision."

Envy dropped folded piece of paper onto Aria's lap and changed back into his doctor form. He left the room silently and it was almost as if he wasn't there. The only thing that was left behind was the faint odour of sewer water and something decaying.

Aria unfolded the piece of paper and saw a phone number and _"Call my when you make up your mind" _scrawled on it in messy writing. Aria smirked. She surprised that Envy even knew how to write. She was surprised that he had come to her with this kind of information but she would take it with a grain of salt. For all Aria knew, this could be a trap but there was genuine fear in Envy's eyes when he spoke. Aria shrugged and placed the paper in her pocket. Right now all she wanted was a nap.

* * *

Now for my short end of chapter babble. I like writing this part the most cause then I can talk about what just happened and there's no spoiler because you all just read the chapter! What did you think about the appearance of Envy? I hope I kept him relatively believable. He's such a fun character to write. See you guys next chapter!


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